CAPTIVE
by Contorce
Summary: A young prisoner at New Hope has a painful past which might destroy her if she doesn't learn to trust in her friends.Kodi will lead an adventure against past and present as she struggles with herself.The gods just might be involved as well.
1. Rebel

**DISCLAIMER - Mostly everything in this story belongs to Tamora Pierce, except Kodi and the plot. **

**CHAPTER 1 **

Keladry of Mindelan stood atop the ramparts at New Hope, watching her soldiers get into position along the gates. It had been four years since the fort was reconstructed from Haven's rubble, and New Hope had grown fast. Numair had raised lots of ground forty feet high, and spelled the buildings against fire. New Hope had grown to the size of a small town, with about 1,000 refugees and a full company of soldiers.

Even though the Scanren War had been over for about two years now, the former King Maggur couldn't be found. He traveled the country with an army of those he had sworn to him. Scanra's nobles had been hunting King Maggur, but the whole country was in disrepair because they had no leader. Unless one of the royal family showed up to rule within the next four years, the country would be run by a, unpopular duke.

Now, three squads stood by the double gate as guards. Usually there was only one squad at the gate, but today was different. A dangerous prisoner was coming from Mastiff, being escorted by Numair. A special cell had been built in headquarters. Lord Wyldon hadn't been clear about why he had ordered the prisoner here to New Hope, but he had said something vague about letting the prisoner start a new life or something.

A trumpet called from far off and Kel straightened up. She wanted to be ready for the prisoner, at least show him that she was all business. Daine walked swiftly around the edge of a building, knowing that the horn call meant the arrival of Numair. She had animal droppings all over her, but her dark, curly hair was neat and clean. Daine joined Kel at the ramparts, her gray eyes troubled.

"Is everything alright?" Kel said. As she spoke, she took out her spyglass, a gift from Lady Alanna, and tried to spot the caravan.

"Yes, I suppose." Daine said hesitantly. "Something doesn't feel right to me, with my magic. I'll ask Numair about it when he gets here." The caravan, or rather two squads of the King's Own, a wagon, and a couple horses and riders, peaked around the edge of the trees. Kel nodded to Merric, one of her year-mates who commanded the soldiers at New Hope. Merric spoke to the soldiers, who straightened up and nervously readjusted their grip on their weapons. Not only did they want to make a good impression, but mostly everyone at New Hope, soldiers and especially the refugees, were wary around mages.

In a couple of minutes, the caravan arrived at the outer gate. Only Numair and the prisoner would be staying at New Hope, and the flurry of activity from unloading was hidden by the wall. Kel fought the urge to lean over the wall to watch the prisoner and barely mastered it. She could see the wagon and the squads turn around and start back, but the prisoner and Numair still hadn't entered yet. Domitan of Masbolle, squad leader in the King's Own, silently climbed up the stairs and stood next to Kel.

"Wonder what's taking them?" He asked softly. Kel just shook her head. "What's the matter?" Dom said with a grin. "If you weren't so flawless, I would say you were nervous. Our Sir Meathead sure is." Kel couldn't help grinning at Dom's name for his cousin, Sir Nealan of Queenscove, another one of Kel's year-mates. Suddenly, the inner gate was raised and in walked the prisoner, followed closely by Numair.

Kel had learned at a young age not to form opinions about people before she had met them, and at least not to be surprised when her opinions were proved wrong. But she couldn't help gawking a little when the prisoner walked into view.

A young girl of average height walked in, a slight swagger in her step. Her look of rebelliousness coupled with her piercing green eyes didn't really fit Kel's description of a dangerous criminal. The thin, but stocky girl looked to be about fourteen or fifteen, with long dirty hair that could be brown if it was clean. She had high cheekbones and arched brows. Filthy as she was, she still could be described as beautiful. Once she passed the inner gate, she looked around as she walked, a slight smirk on her face.

Kel was proud of her soldiers when they didn't stare, but stood there in full military crispness. She descended the inner stair, followed by Dom. The very picture of cool collect, Kel was really confused. 'How much trouble could a young girl like her cause?' Kel guessed it must be a lot, because black fire pooled in Numair's hands. She approached Numair, making the mistake of walking too close to the girl, even though she was five feet away. She didn't hear Numair's warning until too late.

The girl moved almost too fast for the eye to see. She rammed Kel hard in the stomach, ignoring the chain mail, and caught Kel on the edge of the eye with a fist. The girl ducked and turned, dodging Dom's arm. While Kel whipped around, the girl drew Kel's dagger from her sword belt. The squads on guard leveled their spears at her at moved closer, but they didn't dare get to close for fear of hurting one of their own. She could have wreaked serious havoc if she had not been in the presence of Numair Salmalín, greatest mage in Tortall or Keladry of Mindelan.

Numair finally caught her in a spell that made it seem as if she was moving in slow motion. Kel knew the feeling; Numair had caught her in the same spell once when she was fighting with some other pages. Kel moved in, and nodded at Numair to drop the spell. As soon as he did, Kel grabbed the back of the girl's shirt and shook it hard. Despite being shaken so hard that her teeth were clicking together, the girl spit straight into Kel's face. With a last few shakes for good measure, Kel handed the girl to a couple soldiers who held her there.

After doing so, Kel took a moment to restore her Yamani composure. Numair waited until every line was gone from Kel's face, every ounce of annoyance and surprise.

"Lady Knight," Numair said formally, "I hand over to you the prisoner." He looked around with one eyebrow raised. "Though I'm not sure you want her." The soldiers snorted and the girl scowled. "Here is her collar. It's like a slave band, only it has a copy worn by whoever is to guard her. I'll show you how to use it later."

"Thank you, Master Numair. Let's put the band on her, and then take her to her cell." Kel said.

Numair started to put the band around the girl's neck, but she shook him off and struggled. "Leave off!" Her voice was cultured, but hoarse and dry. Under better conditions, with a good meal and plenty of liquids, she would have a pleasant voice. "You'll not put that around my neck." The soldiers held her all the tighter, and Numair could have forced the band on her, but for some reason he chose not to.

"Well, then, where do you want it?" he spoke, making no attempt to hide his exasperation. The girl looked at him with utter contempt, and Numair rolled his eyes. She shook off the soldier holding on to her left arm, and then held it forward. Numair snapped the collar above her elbow, just a couple inches lower than her shoulder. At first the circlet was far too wide to fit, but than it shrank to fit firmly on her arm.

"Take her to her cell." Merric ordered his soldiers as he followed along, saluting Kel first. Kel took a deep breath and let it out slowly. This whole thing had not been expected.

Later that night, after New Haven was quiet, a meeting was held in headquarters. Merric, Neal, Numair, Daine, Dom, Kel, and well, Tobe was listening outside the door, as always. Kel poured hot cider for everyone, and as they drank up, Numair showed them how to work the captive circlet.

"Whoever has the master circlet, controls the girl's, which she will be wearing at all times." Numair stopped and took a swig from his glass. The circlet was thin but durable, and had a flat circle about as big as a thumbprint on it. "." Numair was starting to sound as he had when teaching Kel, Merric, and Neal back when they were pages. "The band will keep the girl within a certain range. If she crosses the range for more than ten minutes, her blood will boil and she will die." Everyone at the table grimaced at the resulting image, except Daine, who was rubbing her forehead as if in pain. No one noticed however and the lecture went on. "If she gets out of control or anything, press up your thumb to the circle. You have to hold it there for five seconds. The circle will give a shock to the girl, very painful. Hold it longer than five seconds and the shock will continue. If you hold it too long, her heart will stop." Numair took a pause to glare at Daine, who had once stopped her own heart, but stared instead.

Daine looked sickly pale at this point, with a tinge of green around her lips. She looked dizzily at Numair and reeled, almost falling off her chair. Numair caught her.

"Daine, what's wrong?" he said. "Are you ill?" Daine just shook her head, her face scrunched up, wincing.

"Tobe?" Fetch us a cloth and some water!" Kel shouted. There was no answer. Kel opened the door and stuck her head out. Tobe lay against the wall, holding his head. "Tobe!" Kel leaned down and shook him lightly. She turned around and yelled back into the confused room. "Tobe's got it too!"

Suddenly, Daine and Tobe both cried out in pain as one. Dom and Merric helped Kel to carry in Tobe and laid him on the table. They called out again, and this time Daine screamed. Numair touched both Daine and Tobe with his magic.

"Something's hurting their wild magic!" Numair shouted. Merric, Dom, Neal, Kel, and Numair looked at each other, then raced out the door, leaving the care of Daine and Tobe to the bewildered clerks who had come in a minute ago. They were headed for the prisoner's cell.

The girl lay on the floor in her small cell. She had lain there for hours with her eyes closed. She knew that if she opened them, she would panic. She had thought of things until she fell asleep. Then the nightmare came, the one with the yelling and the screams. When she woke up, she had instinctively opened her eyes to prove to herself that she wasn't back there. That was a mistake.

As soon as her body knew what her mind did, that she was trapped, she began to panic. The girl stood up, ignoring her stiff muscles, and bashed herself into the walls. Bruising her head, neck, and shoulders, she silently screamed. She remembered one of her first lessons. Make no noise. After she was realized there was no way out, she collapsed on the floor. She rolled over on her back, and stared up at the ceiling. The panic really set in, and breathing became difficult.

Numair opened the trapdoor on the ceiling of the cell, and lowered himself down. He was closely followed by Neal, then Kel, Dom, and Merric. They all stared at the silent figure on the ground, her body twisting as she fought for air. Her hands were by her side clenched around the blanket, pulling and twisting it in different directions. Her back was arched trying to give her lungs more air. At first the newcomers didn't know what was wrong.

"Neal, what's wrong with her?" Kel asked forcefully. At that, Neal remembered his Gift, and stepped forward with his healing magic. "She can't breathe," Neal said. "It seems that either she forced..." Neal was cut off by Dom. "Meathead, don't worry about the technicalities, fix her!"

Neal glared at Dom, even as green magic flowed down his arm and into the girl's chest. Her breathing slowed, and her hands relaxed. Kel knelt down next to her.

"Numair, what's her name?" Kel asked. "We need to call her something, as long as she's our prisoner." Kel fingered the captive circlet uncomfortably.

"Well, Lord Wyldon said that she wouldn't tell anyone her name. That's another thing." Numair said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean, Master Numair?" said Merric. Numair seemed lost in thought, and didn't answer. "Master Numair? What do you mean?" Merric questioned again. Being one of his former students, he was used to having to be patient.

"Oh, sorry Merric. Well, Lord Wyldon said that she was captured in the stable. No one had seen her before then, so she must have come in the secret exit." The special exit that Daine had put in was a secret, but everyone in the room was trusted enough to know about it. New Hope also had a special exit. "She wouldn't tell him anything about herself, so he was forced to confine her."

By this the girl had sufficiently recovered, and she drew herself up, arms around her legs. Neal was still kneeling by her and she edged away from him. The scowl had seemed to be permanently fixed to her face.

Numair gave her back quite a glare himself and continued speaking. "She must have wild magic, and her panicking affected Daine and Tobe, who also have wild magic. Magic that can affect others, like hers did, is not well controlled and can be dangerous."

"I don't have wild magic." The girl said matter-of-factly. Numair ignored her.

"Another thing is, I can't see her wild magic. None of it. If she hides it, she does it well. That means she has the Gift also, and a strong one." Numair said seriously.

"I don't have wild magic, or any other kind!" The girl snapped. The four adults exchanged amused glances. Her scowl deepened.

"Now's as good a time as any to question her." Kel said. "We might as well do it now to get it over with. Maybe we'll find out something that Lord Wyldon didn't." Merric nodded his agreement.

"I'm not going to tell you anything!"

They were all back in headquarters. Numair and Kel sat at one end of the table and the girl at the other. Neal had to go to the infirmary to check on the patients and Merric had to oversee the guards. Daine and Tobe had recovered fully and had gone to the stables to heal a horse with a cut flank. They were also hesitant to meet the girl who had caused them so much pain.

After putting the truth spell on her, Numair began the interrogation.

"What is your name?" The girl just smirked and didn't answer. Numair rolled his eyes and repeated the question.

"Why are you even asking me? You know I'll just lie, so why did you put the truth spell on me?" The girl questioned, with a trace of derision.

"Just answer my question, please." Numair said, ignoring her jibes.

"All right, I'll lie. My name has always been Kodi." True to her word, the truth spell flared black. Numair was beginning to lose his temper. He ended the truth spell.

"Kodi, where did you come from?" Numair said despairingly.

"I came from Hamrkeng. So now that you ended the truth spell, you can either believe me or think that I am lying, which is much more likely." Kodi said smugly. Although Kel's face was smooth, her eyes were dancing.

"Since you are trying to make me believe that you are lying, I will assume that you are telling the truth." Numair said tranquilly.

"Unless of course, I implied that I was lying to make you believe that I told the truth, when in fact I **was** lying." Kel started to snigger behind a hand.

Numair sensed defeat and swiftly changed his approach. "Why do you deny your wild magic?"

"I deny my wild magic? I have wild magic?" The girl said innocently. Too innocently. Numair slammed the table with his hand in a full rage and power sparkled around him. This changed Kodi completely. Instead of being a cocky, proud youngster, she changed into a cowed child. She stared down at the table. Kel stared reproachfully at Numair. THAT hadn't been needed.

"That's better." Numair said. "I can teach you about wild magic and my former student Daine teaches Tobe. Maybe she could also teach you."

"I don't want to learn." This quiet flat response startled Numair. He stared at her, his mouth moving, but no sound coming out. Kel decided to cut in.

"Please, Kodi, give it a try. If you don't like it, you can always stop. Any kind of power isn't good if you can't control it." Kel said softly.

Kodi stared at Kel, her face blank but eyes searching. "All right. I'll give it a try."

Numair smiled triumphantly. At that moment, Daine walked in. Kodi froze up at the first look of her.

_- Flashback - -_

_"Mama!" The small child called, small legs pumping as she ran to her mother. Her mother laughed; put down the cat she had just healed, and picked up her toddler. The woman's soft brown curls swung in the sunlight, and her light eyes laughed. "I love you, Mama." The mother hugged her child close. "I love.." _

_"Woman!" A harsh voice shouted. The mother's face darkened. "Coming."_

_- Flashback Ends- - _

"Kodi? Kodi?" Kel was softly shaking Kodi's shoulder. Kodi blinked as she shook herself out of her daydream. For a minute, she couldn't tell between what was past and what was present.

"No."

"What?" Numair said.

"No. I don't want the lessons. No!" Kodi shouted fiercely.

"Why?" Kel asked. "You were in agreement to them before Daine came."

"If it's something I've done…" Daine started.

"You didn't do anything. Kodi, you need these lessons. Anyone else would be grateful for a chance to learn, let alone have wild magic!" Numair said, his tone taking on frustration.

"Send me back to the cursed pit, or beat me, or whatever, but hurry up with it and let me be!" Kodi screamed at them and ran from the room.


	2. Pride

**DISCLAIMER - T. Pierce owns all.**

**CHAPTER 2**

Kodi hurried through the flurry of kicks, punches, and blocks against the cell wall. It proved to be more difficult than she had first thought, since her eyes were clenched shut the whole time. Kodi had been in the cell for about a week since her outburst in headquarters, but she wasn't sure because she didn't keep track of the days. The only time the cell door opened was to give her food and candles and take away the bucket that served as a privy. A little light filtered in from two small ventilators on either end of the cell.

Still with her eyes closed, Kodi started moving faster and faster. Her fists pounded harder against the wall and her kicks were more solid. She was so focused that she didn't notice the cell door opening. "Kick, high punch, low block," she murmured to herself. "Low kick, duck, turn and punch…" Kodi broke off because her arm had been caught by someone. She opened her eyes, and saw that it was Kel.

"Sorry." Kodi mumbled. She could be impudent and not apologize, but physically attacking a knight and a noble could get her whipped.

Kel just laughed. "It's all right. I can't count the number of times that I almost knocked someone out during my practice." Looking around, Kodi started to feel dizzy, and without even noticing it, her breathing started to quicken. Kel continued. "But doing it with your eyes closed. Is that to stop you from getting scared again?" Kodi glared, hating her weakness and wishing there was something she could do about it.

"Well," Kel said, breaking the silence, "I asked Master Numair if maybe you could come out of the cell. I know you hate it, and I don't think you're _that_ dangerous. Besides you've got the circlet on, how much harm could you do?" Kodi raised one eyebrow in response. "Here, let's get you washed up and maybe some new clothes." Kel eyed the girl's clothes. What might have once been a dress was now rags, and barely covered the body.

Kel started to climb up the ladder, then mentally kicked herself for her stupidity. She was too trusting of her prisoner. Kel jumped back down, and the girl started up. Once Kodi was free of her prison, she looked around. The opening to the cell let out in a storeroom. Boxes were neatly stacked, and they probably had food in them. Kel exited the pit and gestured for Kodi to walk through the door.

As they walked towards headquarters, the refugees stared at the girl. A smirk lighted on her face, and she strode just a bit wider, forcing Kel to walk faster. Neal joined the procession, coming from the infirmary.

"Why did you bring her out here? You should hear the refugees talk. They hate her already." Neal spoke in whispers, assuming that Kodi couldn't hear him, but she heard every word. One of her talents was hearing things that weren't meant for her ears.

"Relax. I'm just taking her out for a bath, and some new clothes. Numair wanted to talk to her again."

"I still can't figure out why the Stump sent her to us."

"I don't know either. And don't call him that."

Kodi listened hard until she was sure the conversation was over. Almost disappointed, she examined the headquarters sharply. She took notice of every door and window, just in case she needed to make an escape. Kel and Neal walked behind her as she walked through the door.

"Up the stairs, to the right." Kel said. Kodi walked docilely for a total of five steps. With the quickness of a cat, she placed her hands on the banister and swung off. She hit the ground running and probably would have been halfway to Hamrkeng if Dom hadn't stepped into the doorway. Kodi hit him and both flew out into the street. Muttering curses Kel had never heard before, she scrambled up, but not before Dom had caught her leg. Kodi hit the ground again.

Kel had reached the scene by then, and yanked Kodi up by the arm. "What are you doing?" Kel said furiously.

Kodi shook off Kel, sulkily. No one would handle her like that! Frustrated, Kel responded by pressing the gold circle on her band. Kodi's body shook with silent spasms and her hands gripped her knees, knuckles white. Through all of this, her face remained impassive. Kel only held it for a second, guessing how much it would hurt.

"Now. Would you care to behave civilly?" Without waiting for a response, Kel continued, extending an arm out to Dom. "Good. To my room." Kodi scowled deeply, but obeyed. The memory of pain was still fresh in her mind.

Once in Kel's room, Kodi looked around. The room was small, but neat. There were no windows. A bath rested in the corner, with steam rising from it.

"Take your clothes off and get into the tub." Kel ordered. Kodi folded her arms and held them stiffly. She wasn't going to undress with someone else in the room. Kel also folded her arms and the two had a silent staring contest. Knowing that it would throw her opponent off balance, Kodi started Shifting her eye color as naturally as she would breathe. She hated to let anyone know more about herself and abilities than she had to, but she wanted to win this unspoken battle. Kel jerked away after she realized the changing from green to red to black wasn't normal.

"Fine. Be stubborn. I want you washed and dressed in 15 minutes. I will wait right outside the door. Pick through the pile of clothes on my bed, one of each thing. Don't take too long." Kel said and left the room. She also hated to be beaten.

Kodi walked over to the bed. A couple of dresses were neatly folded, next to a pile of white breastbands and loincloths. She took one of each, except the dresses. Near the dresses, there were breeches and shirts. They were faded and patched, but Kodi would much prefer them to the dresses. Although she wore a dress now, she would like to forget that part of her life. After choosing her clothes, she wriggled out of her rags, and eased herself into the tub's hot water. Sighing, because she hadn't taken a bath for weeks, she allowed herself to soak for a minute. Then, Kodi furiously scrubbed and washed herself for five minutes. Ducking under the water one last time, she sprang out of the murky, brown water and changed.

Clean and with new clothes on, she almost looked like a new person. Her brown hair proved to be a dark blond and her skin lost some of its darkness.

Holding her breath for luck, Kodi poked her head out the door. She had guessed that the knight-woman would go to tell the mage about her eyes, and she was right. No doubt that the knight-woman had waited for a minute to make sure she was really washing. Taking a minute to think, Kodi assessed the situation. A good friend of hers had once taught her to always do the unexpected where unevenly matched against an stronger opponent. Well, she was unmatched now. The Tortallans obviously expected her to run, so she would stay. In fact, I might as well surprise them further.

Kodi walked with feline grace and silence through headquarters. She had remembered the way and so she could find her way back. Headquarters was silent, so Kodi guessed that the men were at supper. She entered the mess hall, which had been noisy as usual, previous to her entry. Now it was silent. She was aware of the eyes following her, so she threw back her shoulders a little more and erased her face of any emotion. The knight-woman stared at Kodi with a mixture of emotions and the mage buried his face in his hands. Defeated again, the knight-woman silently offered her a seat up at the main table. The journey across the large room to the table at the head of it seemed to last forever, but Kodi knew better than to show it. As soon as she sat down, the whispering started.

"She's a _Scanran_…" "She'll kill us all, our children aren't safe…" "Why isn't she in her cell, where she belongs…" "I hope my Lady knows what she's doing..." Kodi almost sneered, but remembering just in time, she kept her face smooth. In turn she grabbed her knife and fork and began sawing away at her beef. On Kodi's right sat the knight-woman. Kodi had a complete impression of her, but was going to wait for the final judgment.

On Kodi's other side sat a boy, man almost, she thought. His name was Tobe and looked to be older than her, though you never could tell. He was strong and tall, though lean. He had blond hair that hung shaggily on his head, though didn't reach halfway past his neck. His clear blue eyes took in the whole scene before him. Kodi guessed that he was watching to see what the soldiers' reactions would be to her. Hearing a negative comment about the knight-woman, Kodi felt Tobe bristle unintentionally, giving her the impression that he was protective of his commander. Kodi listened enough to know that he was a horse mage and also taught younger children weapon use.

Kodi started again on the meat, which proved to be tough and stringy. Sighing inwardly, she shifted her grip on the knife and started cutting again. Listening to the talk among the soldiers, she found she could learn a lot. Most of the men agreed with the knight-woman, although they didn't understand the decision. None of them trusted Kodi and for that she was glad. She didn't want to have to break anyone's trust. There were a couple who spoke against the knight-woman, Lady Keladry was her name, and they could prove to be dangerous. Things started to become normal again and the soldiers talked of normal things.

One man who was seating on a table very close to the main table still looked angry. She immediately recognized him as a troublemaker. His voice, louder than the rest, broke out. "I wonder why the Lady is treating the prisoner as if she was human? After all, the girl is Scanren scum, not fit to wipe the spit off our boots. But, that does seem to fit the Lady's tastes."

Half the room broke out in an angry roar. Some of the soldiers stood up and started towards the man. Angry power broke out around Numair and Neal, Tobe, Merric, and Dom were already halfway around the table. Kodi beat them. She stood up and hurled her knife in one fluent movement. The knife landed point blank in the table, an inch from the speaker's hand. After the resounding thud, the whole room was silent. The men halted and stared at Kodi amazed. Kodi was already sawing away again at her meat, with a borrowed knife from the knight-woman.

Kodi shoveled hay out of a stall in the stables. The knight-woman had told her to muck out every stall in the stable as a punishment for losing her temper. Kodi didn't argue. She had lost her temper and showing emotion was bad. Her other self didn't show emotion at all. The knight-woman had also told her not to bother the horses, so she wouldn't _bother_ them. It was only bothering if the horses didn't like it, and they were already trying to talk to her. Kodi didn't let them in yet, because then her magic would shine through and she liked to keep it hidden.

Finally finished, Kodi leaned the pitchfork against the wall and entered a stall. Before letting her guard down to the brown mare, she put a mind block around them. That would make it so only the mare and her could see or hear the magic.

_Hello. _said the horse. _The two-leggers call me Hoshi. _Kodi moved her hand slowly onto Hoshi's nose. _Hey there. You're beautiful. _Hoshi head-butted Kodi gently, enjoying the compliments. Kodi and Hoshi continued to get to know each other for about five minutes more. Suddenly, a dark bruise appeared on Kodi's left cheek. Kodi gasped and dropped her shield, hiding her magic at the same time. She dropped to the ground holding her head and moaning. Hoshi reared in panic and screamed loudly.

Tobe ran in, soothing Hoshi as soon as he got to the stall. He noticed Kodi laying in the clean straw. "You!" he shouted accusatory. "What did you do to her?" Tobe was normal gentle and level headed, but anyone who messed with the horses was in trouble.

Kodi leapt to her feet. In times like these she tried to avoid people, but if they came to her she would let them have it. She pulled her fist back and swung at Tobe. The punch hit him in the nose. Angrily, Tobe shoved her backwards and Kodi crashed into the stall wall. She leapt for his legs and brought him down. They wrestled with each other, beating each other as often as the confined area allowed. Tobe was decidedly stronger, but fast though he was, Kodi was faster. She could wriggle out of any hold that Tobe could through on her. Though Kodi and Tobe were both trained in the art of hand-to-hand combat, the fight wasn't really as much technique as manslaughter.

Numair and Daine chanced to walk past the stables, arm in arm. Hearing the brawl inside, and Daine the horses' comments on it, they rushed in. Numair grabbed Tobe, who immediately stopped fighting knowing that the fight was over. Kodi, when pulled away by Daine, jerked out and got in another good punch at Tobe before Daine yanked her arm back. Numair and Daine brought the two culprits to Kel's office.

"What were you two doing?" Kel demanded. When none of them answered, she leaned back in her chair and stared at them levelly. She knew that Tobe hardly ever fought and when he did it was for a good reason. As for this fight itself, it was a puzzle. Kel knew that both Tobe and Kodi were evenly matched and could both cause damage. However, upon examining both fighters, Kodi seemed to have gotten the worst of it. Large bruises covered her face, one eye was swollen shut already, and she breathed shallowly, telling Kel that there was maybe a broken rib or two. That was just what Kel could see. She could guess that there were more injuries under the clothes. As for Tobe, he had bruises and black eyes, but nothing as bad as Kodi.

"Fighting is not the way to handle problems. Come to me if you have something you can't work out. As of now, we have one less man to fight for New Hope, and as for you Kodi, well you're hurt." Kel lectured the abashed Tobe and nonchalant Kodi.

"Someone get Neal, please." Kel said calmly and Daine left the room. "Why were you two fighting?" Neither answered, just stared at the ground, and Kel felt a headache coming on. Numair tried his luck.

"Kodi, why were you in a fight with Tobe? Answer me!" Kodi shook her head and tried to hide the resulting wince.

"Tobe?" Numair growled. "Why did you two fight?" Tobe didn't answer, but at that moment Neal entered.

Immediately Neal began healing. He began with Tobe and it took about five minutes. Kel and Numair had gone outside to talk. After finishing with Tobe, Neal started to heal Kodi. Maybe it was her imagination, but her healing took longer than his. Then again, she had faced the beatings of two opponents, not just one. Hardly fair, but couldn't be helped. Exhausted from the healing, Neal slumped on the chair behind the desk.

Kel, Numair, and Daine reentered the room. "Neal?" Kel said. "Are you alright?" Kel exchanged glances with Numair.

"Out." ordered Numair, staring at Tobe and Kodi as he pointed to the door. They had gotten into enough trouble that evening and left without protest. Actually, they left the room, closing the door behind them, and promptly had a silent scuffle over who got to listen at the keyhole. Kodi won and Tobe had to content himself with kneeling and listening from under the door.

"How was she Neal?" asked Daine.

"Worse off than Tobe, that's for sure."

"That's odd, they were evenly matched when Daine and I stopped the fight."

"Do you know why they started to fight?" questioned Kel. "I couldn't get an answer from either one of them."

"Reminds you of those page days, doesn't it?" Neal declared dramatically. "The days of 'I fell down' and 'They must be mistaken?' If I remember correctly, you Kel my dear, used those sentences more than any page I knew and…" The sound of a soft punch could be heard and chuckles followed.

Daine got the group back on topic. "I visited the stables after getting Neal and the horses had a lot to say about it. Kodi had been in Hoshi's stall, talking to her with wild magic. Hoshi said that suddenly Kodi fell to the ground and started to moan as if in pain. That's when Tobe came in and it appeared that he confronted her and she swung at him. The rest you know."

Outside the room, Tobe was looking at Kodi sheepishly. 'Sorry.' he mouthed. Tobe wasn't one to hold a grudge. She nodded, accepting his apology and mouthing back her own.

"The problem is then," Numair said, sounding very much like a scholar, "what caused Kodi pain enough for her to fall to the ground? The answer to that question may very well provide the answer to Kodi sustaining more injury than Tobe."

Neal broke in enthusiastically. "It took me a long time to heal Kodi. At first I thought I was tired, but now I think that it is because of the Magical Healing- Deflection Theory!" Numair made an excited noise. Kel coughed slightly, reminding Neal and Numair that not everyone stayed up late nights reading thick magical books.

"The Magical Healing – Deflection theory states that after a certain number of healings, the number varying depending on the person, type of injury, etc, your body will resist these healings." Numair sounded as if he was reading straight from the book.

Tobe sniggered and Kodi made a soft sound of disgust.

"So you are saying that she has enough healings for her body to resist them?" Daine inquired. Neal nodded in answer to her question.

"What could have happened to make her need so many healings?" Kel asked. Inside the room, Numair shrugged. Outside the room, Kodi deliberately avoided Tobe questioning gaze.

"Whatever it is, I am going to find out." Numair declared. "I'm also going to get her to take the lessons and answer all my questions. I will discover what magic she has and how she can best utilize it."

Kodi's face was bared into a wolfish snarl.


	3. Memories

**DISCLAIMER - Tamora Pierce owns mostly everything but I own Kodi, Captus, and the plot.**

**CHAPTER 3**

Laughing and joking, Tobe and Kodi shoved each other in Kel's room. They had become fast friends in the last week, having worked out their disagreement and been quick to forgive. Right then, they were supposed to be studying their schoolwork but found millions of more interesting things to do. Take the pillows for instance. They had been having a pillow fight, but one of the pillows had torn and there were feathers everywhere.

"Shove this up your nose!" said a rather unladylike Kodi, who thrust a handful of feathers in his face. Tobe choose that exact moment to inhale and choke on feathers. Sneezing and coughing, he gagged as Kiyra rolled around in hysterics. For some reason, Kodi had chosen to loosen up around with Tobe, but was still as stoic around everyone else.

After Tobe had finished extracting twenty feathers, he jumped at Kodi and started to tickle her sides. Squealing and arching her back, Kodi thrashed about on the floor, scattering the feathers even further. Through all the ruckus, they heard footsteps walking up to the door. Trying to gain their composure, Kodi and Tobe stood up and tried to brush the feathers off themselves. They failed, but Kodi did get her stone face on. Kel walked in, raising her eyebrows as she saw the mess.

"Um, well, Tobe was needed in the barn for his lesson with Daine, but maybe you should clean this up first." Kel couldn't keep herself from laughing.

"It's alright. I'll clean it up." Kodi said, with no trace of the laughing girl she had been a minute before.

"That isn't fair!" Tobe protested. "I made just as much of the mess as you did!"

"Why don't you both clean it up," Kel said carefully, "and then both meet Daine in the stables? That way it will be fair for both"

Kodi saw right through Kel's plan. "I don't have wild magic."

"I know." Kel said, even more carefully than before, "It's just that you and Tobe are friends and there's really nothing else for you to do around here."

Kodi quickly glanced towards the unfinished schoolwork and stammered, "Sure. Let's hurry and pick this up." She knew what Kel was doing, but she could hide her magic and she did like animals.

After cleaning up the feathers and leaving them in a pile on Kel's bed, Tobe and Kodi traipsed down to the stables. Tobe entered without hesitation, but Kodi paused for a minute, uncertain. If she stepped over the threshold, there might be no turning back. Tobe made the choice for her.

"Come on, Kodi." His arm reached back and yanked her forward. Kodi smiled ruefully. So much for choosing, she thought.

Daine sat on a stool in the biggest open space of the barn. Four dogs sat around her and two cats twined around her legs. Startled, Daine looked up and her face broke into a smile that was so painfully familiar to Kodi. Throat choked up, Kodi looked away and examined the crossbeams. When she had control of herself, she turned back and was glad to see that Tobe or Daine had not noticed her odd behavior.

"So," Daine said cheerfully, "I'm glad that you decided to join us, Kodi. Today, Tobe, we're learning about healing pulled muscles. Follow me." Daine walked over to a stall where Peachblossom, Kel's huge horse, stood eating hay. "Peachblossom pulled his tendon on his right foreleg. Now come sit down, Tobe, and try to heal it."

Tobe sat down next to Daine and closed his eyes, with his hands on Peachblossom's leg. Daine was also concentrating on what Tobe was doing to make sure that he didn't make a mistake. Kodi watched for a minute, but when there were no visible results she walked away. She had so little patience sometimes. Instead, Kodi sat down next to one of the cats, which was now sleeping in the straw. The cat woke up and came purring to Kodi.

Kodi looked quickly to Daine and Kodi to make sure that they weren't watching, and then built a quick shield around herself and the brown cat. Now no one could see the magic that would seep out of Kodi as soon as she opened the door that led to her magic. She opened it.

_Hello, cat-friend. What's your name? _

_My name is Fisher. Why do you hide your magic? _The cat sounded young and curious.

_It's complicated. _Kodi guessed that the cat would tell Daine her reasons if she asked. _Besides, you'll tell Daine. _The cat grinned.

_I trust her. You should trust her too. She is kind. _

_I don't trust anyone. Except myself. _Kodi said defiantly.

_You must be sad. _

_No. Why should I be?_

_Trusting no one is a horrible life to lead. You need to trust and love._

_I don't love…._

_Yes, I know, I know. You don't love anyone. _

Kodi could hear voices through her conversation. She looked towards Daine and Tobe who were looking at her. She could see their mouths moving.

_Goodbye Fisher. _

Kodi pulled back in all of her magic and slammed the door shut, barring it a couple of times like always. Then, she let go of the shield and it disappeared. She could hear Tobe and Daine now.

"Kodi? Kodi?" Tobe walked over to her and shook her.

"Hey! Stoppit!" Kodi said indignantly.

"What just happened?" Daine asked. "You just sat there like you couldn't even hear us."

"That's 'cause I didn't. I was, um, daydreaming." Tobe looked at her suspiciously. "It was a really deep daydream. In fact, I think I had almost fallen asleep." Tobe rolled his eyes. Fisher walked to Daine and clawed at her pant leg. Daine looked down at the cat and then at Kodi, eyes wide. "Snitch," muttered Kodi.

"Kodi, I know you have wild magic. Why hide it? There's not anything bad about it." Kodi snorted. "Well, there's not. You know, I think its time to go to Numair for a talk. Come on."

Kodi really would have gone, but pain squeezed her left arm, near her shoulder. "Um, well," It squeezed again, harder. "I have somewhere to go. Maybe later." She started to turn around, but Tobe grabbed her arm. A bruise, unnoticed by anyone but Kodi, appeared on her right cheek. "Let me go!"

"No. I want answers too. You're my friend and I don't want you to get hurt. Numair can help you." Tobe pleaded, still holding on to her arm tightly.

"How touching." Kodi punched Tobe right on the nose, which now spurted blood. Running out the door, she could hear Daine calling her name. Well, she wouldn't come. She tripped over her own feet when pain seized her right leg. Neal happened to walk past the stables at that moment, and he saw her wincing and rubbing her leg.

"Kodi? Are you alright?" Neal said concerned.

"Yah, I'm fine." Neal didn't believe her and advanced towards her, green magic in his hands. Kodi didn't want him to see the bruises that were appearing like wild fire on her arms and legs, so she redirected him. "I told you, I'm fine. Tobe's hurt though. In the stables." Neal walked swiftly into the barn. That wasn't hard, she thought. People should have more sense sometimes. Kodi ran and hid in one of the storerooms to wait out the storm, in more ways than one.

Inside the stables, Tobe winced as Neal healed his broken nose. "I don't understand," he said. "I thought we were friends. Why would she do this?"

Daine gave Tobe a one armed hug, trying not to get in Neal's way. "You have to understand that she may have problems that we don't know about. Does it hurt?"

"It's not my nose!" Tobe said fiercely. "Why doesn't she trust me? I trust her." Daine smiled sadly and Neal left to find Kodi.

"When I first came to Tortall I had a secret that I didn't tell anyone. I did something horrible in Galla and I thought that my new friends would shun me if they knew. I should have known better, but I was too worried. I didn't tell them for a few months, and I had to hide it from them. Whenever I used my magic it would happen, so I couldn't use it anymore. That led to them asking me about it and I got mad at them. The most important thing for you to do is just be a friend to Kodi, but don't expect too much of her." Tobe nodded, trying to understand.

Neal found Kodi faster than she had thought he would. Cursing as she was dragged up to headquarters, inwardly Kodi thanked the gods that it was over. Being pushed up the stairs by Neal, Kodi stumbled a few times. Both of her wrists were broken and she whimpered every time she landed on them. Knocking sharply on Kel's door, Neal opened the door and pushed Kodi in as soon as there was an answer.

Kel saw what Neal had not. Kodi's face was a mass of mottled bruises and small cuts. Her wrists were swollen and her nose bled steadily.

"What did you do to her?" Kel demanded of Neal.

"What do you mean?" Kel raised her eyebrows and Neal spun Kodi around to face him. Gasping when he saw her, he immediately began to heal her.

"What happened?" Kel asked. Kodi didn't answer.

"She punched Tobe in the stables and I went to find her. I didn't even notice that she was beat up until you told me." Neal said, concentrating on a particularly bad cut on Kodi's forehead.

"Neal, keep her here. I'm going to find Numair and Daine and we're going to get some real answers." Kel left, leaving Kodi to gauge the distance between Neal, herself, and the door. Numair must have been closer than Kel thought, because she returned just as Kodi was going to make a break for it.

Neal still wasn't done healing, but he had fixed the most painful wounds. Neal, Numair, Daine, Kel and Kodi sat around the table. Kodi purposely sat close to the door, but the others didn't seem to notice or just didn't care. Numair started the questions first, making sure that his truth spell was intact.

"Why did you hit Tobe?"

"I just felt like it." The truth spell flared grey, indicating a half-truth.

"What was the real reason?" asked Daine. Kodi cursed her soft spot and answered truthfully.

"He wouldn't let go of me and I was mad."

"Why were you hurt so badly?" asked Neal. Numair leaned forward, eagerly awaiting the answer.

"I just was." Kodi said. Numair leaned back and rolled his eyes.

"We don't want to hurt you." Daine said. "Won't you tell us anything?" A flash of pain crossed Kodi's face and disappeared as fast as it had come.

"No. I won't." Kodi spoke softly, though she was firm. Her being so calm caused Numair to lose his temper.

"I am tired of you acting like you are the one in charge!" Numair bellowed. "I want answers! If they are not given, I will get rough!" Kodi almost cowered again, but instead held herself stiff and refused to look at him.

"Now," Numair said, a little guiltily, "Why were you hurt like that?"

"You're the mage, you tell me!" spat Kodi.

"You have one more chance and then I will be forced into a choice that I didn't want to make." Daine watched, her dark eyes worried. Kel and Neal just looked on, faces impossible to read.

"Go screw yourself." Kodi answered in return.

Numair snarled and ordered Kel and Neal to "hold the animal." They did so, asking what he was going to do.

"I will get the answers." Numair said in a voice that made Kodi shudder. Resting a hand on her forehead, black power flowed down his arm as she fought his touch. Images appeared above the table, memories from Kodi's mind.

_A woman that looked similar to Daine was being beaten by a tall Scanren man…the same woman lay in a coffin, cold and still…a small child was being beaten by the same man, a child who was Kodi,…A boy was being led away in chains from his nonchalant father and wailing younger sister, who was Kodi…_

Daine, Neal, and Kel watched in horror, too bewitched to stop the furious Numair. Kodi couldn't take this torture anymore. She yanked Kel's knife from her belt and slashed at Numair. The magic ended when Kodi cut his arm and blood flowed freely down it. Openly sobbing, Kodi broke free of the restraining arms and ran from the room.

The door had been open and Tobe had been watching. Catching Kodi in his arms, he held her as she wept. Eyes accusatory over her head, Tobe led her away from the man who had caused her so much pain that night.

Daine burst into tears and Neal looked away. Kel's eyes were moist and she glared at Numair, who was also dazed.

"The spell was supposed to show whatever was most in her mind. I didn't know that would happen." Numair said, ashamed of what he had done.

They sat there for a while, thinking about how these memories explained many of Kodi's actions.

Meanwhile, Tobe sat rocking Kodi as she cried for the first time in years. Tobe himself felt tears running down his face. They were in the stables and the smells and sounds reassured her. When she finally had cried herself to sleep, Tobe left her on a pile of soft hay. He left the stables, walking determinedly to headquarters. Tobe quickly found the room where the council had been. He was about to march in and confront them, but he heard them talking. Knowing that Kodi would much rather him eavesdrop than defend her, he dutifully listened.

"Numair, what did you think of those memories?" Tobe recognized Kel's voice.

"I don't know. She obviously had a hard childhood. Her mother looked like Daine and that explains why Kodi used to hate her." Numair sounded upset. He should be, thought Tobe. "Unfortunately," Numair continued, "those particular memories explain little else."

"Unfortunately?" Daine's voice crack as she cried. "She was beaten. Those memories cause her pain." She started to cry harder. Tobe pushed the door open a tad. He could see Numair gathering Daine into his arms and rocking her. Kel saw Tobe at the door.

"Tobe, come in." Unashamedly, Tobe sat down on the chair where Kodi had been sitting.

"What do you think?" Numair asked him. Tobe wasn't going to answer. Why should he? Numair had upset his friend.

"Tobe, if you think it might help her…" Daine said between quieting sobs.

"Well," Tobe said hesitantly, "The bruises and the pain she has, they look like beatings. I should know, from when I was a kid. Her father must be doing it still. Either he's here in New Hope or he's doing it by magic." Tobe stopped worried that he might be saying too much.

"We'll find some way to help Kodi." Kel said with finality. "Then, we'll get answers to our questions."


	4. Harm's Way

**DISCLAIMER - T.P. owns all.**

**CHAPTER 4**

Kodi yawned and stretched. Allowing herself to slowly wake up, she remembered the events of the last month. After her memories had been shown to New Hope's authority, she had been somewhat distant from them. She liked Tobe even more than before though, after he had protected her and held her as she cried. It wasn't embarrassing or awkward, it had felt comfortable.

Extracting herself from the haystack in which she slept, Kodi planned out her day. Even for a prisoner, she did have a lot of freedom. She hadn't gone back to the cell that she hated so much even once. Even when she pushed Tobe into the latrine as they were cleaning it or when she 'accidentally' soaked Numair with a bucket of water perched on a door. Neither had done any harm anyway. At least the refugees were starting to accept her.

Kodi walked to New Hope's gate. As she had hoped, Lady Kel was there. Kodi really liked her and Daine, although she tried to act as if she didn't care. Any woman who gave her the time of day and could fill the hole in her heart for an older female role model was welcome.

"Good morning!" Lady Kel said. Kodi tried hard to hide her wide grin. "Where are you off to this early in the morning?"

"That's what I'm here for. I wanted to ask you something." Kodi crossed her fingers for luck and held them behind her back. "I wondered if I could leave New Hope. Not forever. Just for the morning. Honest."

Kel smiled. "Alright. One condition. You take an escort." Kodi's heart sank. She had secretly hoped that Kel would trust her. "The truth is," Kel admitted, "That Tobe has been annoying me greatly the past few days. He says that he wants to do something more than hang around New Hope. Really, you would be doing me a favor if you let him along with you."

This time Kodi couldn't keep the grin from her face. "I'll go get him."

When she returned with a drowsy Tobe, Kodi was back within five minutes upon the time she had left. Distracted by the youths' playfulness, Kel almost forgot her duties as commander.

"Wait!" Kel called to their retreating backs. "Be careful! Take this hunting horn!" Kodi ran back to fetch the horn. "Blow it three times if you need help. Don't worry; there shouldn't be any raiders about."

Kodi and Tobe frolicked like children in the fall leaves in the woods. They threw leaves at each other and knocked each other into leaf piles. The leaves had never been so colorful or the air as fresh as that autumn morning. Forgetting all their cares, Kodi and Tobe larked about. Finally tired out, they flopped into a leaf pile. Tobe's forehead wrinkled in concentration.

"Kodi, why don't you like your magic?" If it had been anyone else, Kodi wouldn't have answered. This was Tobe, however, her friend who just wanted to help her.

"The one part of my magic that I like, I'm trying to forget and I hate the other part." Kodi said vaguely yet truthfully.

"I don't get it." Tobe was confused. Anyone who didn't know Kodi's past would be.

"I like my wild magic, but my ma had it and she's dead." Kodi's voice cracked.

"You don't have to tell me this if you don't want to." Tobe offered. Kodi shook her head and continued.

"My other part comes from _**Him**._ I hate it but I need it." Kodi said. "I wish I could tell you more, but I can't." Tobe's arm snaked around Kodi's shoulders in an awkward sort of hug. Kodi leaned her head up against his. They sat there for a moment.

Kodi sprang up. "Race you back to New Hope!" she challenged. Tobe responded by running. Cursing, Kodi took a different path through the woods. Tobe was out of view as she gave it her hardest effort. She might beat him if she ran as fast as she could. Entering a large clearing, Kodi heard heaving panting behind her.

"You breathe like a winded bull!" Kodi taunted. There was no answer and the panting got closer. "You won't beat be!" Kodi shouted as she extended her stride a little bit more. She came around a clump of trees and stared down in shock, still running. Tobe was in front of her, but something was breathing behind her. Looking behind her quickly, she moaned in fear and tripped on an outstretched root.

"Tobe!" she screamed as she went down. Rolling over quickly, Kodi saw a huge dog/wolf closing the distance between Kodi and it. She could hear Tobe shouting, but she knew that he wouldn't get there in time. Scrambling for footing, fright made her wobbly and clumsy. Fumbling for the hunting horn, Kodi tripped again and then the dog was upon her.

Putting its paws on Kodi's shoulders and pinning her to the ground roughly, the dog was huge. Staring at its blue almond eyes, Kodi could only stare as its weight held her. The dog leaned closer, meeting her gaze. Suddenly, the dog was knocked away by Tobe. Getting up, wincing as she straightened her bruised shoulders, Kodi blew the hunting horn quickly. Dropping it, she rushed to help Tobe.

The dog should have mauled Tobe by now, but it hadn't. It just looked to be wrestling with him, almost as if it were having fun. Not even thinking, Kodi whistled the way that her brother had taught her; joining her thumb and forefinger and putting it into her mouth. The dog looked up and extracted itself from Tobe delicately. It then briskly trotted over to Kodi. Surprised, Kodi stared at it.

It was a he and he was a huge dog, slightly bigger than a wolf. Looking at him close up, Kodi could see that he was the breed favored by Scanren nobleman and royalty; the husky. He had a cream underbelly, legs, and front. His back was black, mixing with the white in some places. The back of his neck and ears were also black. The black crept onto his face, but ended just above his eyes, except for a streak that came out a few inches onto his muzzle. The husky's fur was a couple inches long and sitting down, his head came up to Kodi's waist.

"Well." was all that came out of Kodi. "Dogs like you are expensive. What are you doing about with no owner?"

"What is he doing attacking you?" Tobe snapped.

"Aw, he was just playing." Kodi said although she wasn't even sure of it. "Anyway, he isn't causing any trouble, is he?" The husky chose that moment to bark sharply twice and then howl. Shivers crawled up Kodi and Tobe's spines. Not that they were afraid of wolves, but this dog sounded like one.

A clang of metal at both sides of the clearing made them look up. At one side was Kel leading two squads of men. On the other, raiders were running towards Kodi and Tobe with spears raised. Kodi gave Tobe a look.

"At least we had a good reason for blowing the horn, even if we didn't know it at the time." Tobe said as they started to run to the New Hope rescuers.

"I think us getting attacked by a dog is reason enough." Kodi argued reasonably as she sprinted, ducking an arrow from the bandits. The mentioned husky ran beside the pair.

"I don't know. As _you _said, he wasn't actually causing any harm." Tobe pointed out as he dodged a spear.

"Forgive me if I didn't check to make sure you weren't in serious pain before I tried to save your life." joked Kodi good-naturedly. "Next time I'll wait until I see blood." The three of them ran behind the line of King's Own.

"Report." ordered Kel as she kept her eyes on the bandits. The Own were shooting to keep them at bay. Tobe snuck a look at Kodi before he went to attention, eyes filled with mirth.

"We were just in the woods…um well…Kodi blew the horn… its complicated. I'll explain later, okay?" Kel nodded and led the men in a charge.

Kodi tossed Tobe a spear, keeping one for herself. They were about to charge themselves, when Numair spoke from atop his horse where he was working battle magic.

"Lady Kel told me to tell you that you're to stay here and not to put yourself in any danger." After the glare they simultaneously gave him, he muttered. "Well, don't shoot the messenger."

The fight with the bandits was over in another minute and the rescue party was on its way back to New Hope. Tobe explained the events of the day, starting with when Kodi got chased by the dog, with Kodi nodding at the appropriate parts. Through the whole thing, the husky stayed right by Kodi's side. Kodi didn't mind. She kind of liked him.

"Numair?" Daine said quietly, gesturing for him to fall back behind the soldiers. "Something isn't right with the dog." Numair turned around, alarmed and Kodi stiffened indignantly, also stopping. Tobe was far behind her.

"What is it, Daine?" Numair said, just as quietly. Neal, Kel, and Dom were heading their way, noticing them falling behind.

"Well," Daine said hesitantly, "I can't reach him. Tobe wouldn't have noticed, because he can only talk to horses. Kodi wouldn't have noticed because she keeps her magic locked up and hidden." Kodi made a face at Daine, who grinned and continued. "I can't talk to him or get any thoughts from him."

"I don't know," said Numair carefully. "Maybe he's a sorcerer trapped in a dog's form. More likely, he is a spy. We will have to lock him up and interrogate him."

Kodi was livid. "Interrogate a dog? Are you mad? Don't even bother answering that, I already know the answer." The adults' faces were amused, including Numair's. They hadn't ever heard Numair talked to like that. Kodi knelt down smoothly and buried her face in the dog's fur, throwing her arms around him. The husky turned his head towards hers and touched her face. Touched by the show of emotion, Numair cleared his throat.

"I suppose that he hasn't done anything wrong yet. If he does anything unnatural, you have to come to more, alright Kodi?" Kodi smiled up at him gratefully.

"Come on, Dog!" she shouted as she ran into New Hope, a skip in her step. "Oh, Tobe come _on_!" Tobe rolled his eyes but followed.

"Canine?" Tobe suggested.

"No, that's _stupid_!" Kodi said, stroking her new friend's fur.

"Well, I've been through every other animal name in the realm." Tobe said and he wasn't exaggerating.

"That's the problem." Kodi explained patiently. "Something for an animal just doesn't fit. You should try human names." Tobe grumbled.

"He's your dog. "Um, Anton?" Kodi shook her head. "Toric? Youden? Clastic? _Numair_?" Kodi grinned infectiously.

"Tempting, but no. I try to refrain from insulting my new friends." Tobe and Kodi dissolved into peals of laughter.

"Jamus? Madon? Captus?" The last name Tobe had read somewhere in a history book. Kodi stopped laughing immediately.

"No." she said flatly. "No. No. No."

"But why? It fits him and he likes it." Tobe protested. It was true. The husky had perked up a bit when the name was mentioned.

Kodi hesitated. She had kept her past to her self for so long that she was hard in bringing it forward. Habits were hard to break and some things were just too painful.

"Captus was my brother's name. He…died. He was nine. It was a year after my mother's death. I was only six."

"I'm sorry." Tobe didn't know what to say.

"It's alright. You didn't know." One solitary tear ran down her cheek, but she brushed it away quickly. She was getting too emotional lately. She would have to work on being more like her other self.

"Captus." Kodi rolled the name on her tongue, her Scanren accent coming back for the moment. "You're right though. It does fit. My brother would have liked me naming my friend after him."

"Captus it is." Tobe said. He knelt next to Kodi and drew his dagger. "In the name of the memory of a noble boy, I dub thee Captus, protector and loyal friend." Tobe tapped the dagger on both of Captus' shoulders and Captus gave a small nod of his head that resembled a bow.

Kodi looked adoringly at Tobe. She didn't mean too, but it just happened. Tobe stared back at her and leaned forward. Kodi watched him come closer and closer. You don't need this, she thought. Remember your mother? You can't trust men. Your mother loved your father, didn't she? Look where that got her, six feet under. Come on, push him away…

Tobe's lips were on hers. Startled Kodi stiffened, but then relaxed, closing her eyes and leaning into him. It felt well, nice. Besides what harm could one kiss do? Tobe broke away red-faced.

"Um. I have to, um, go." He clumsily got up, grinning crazily. Watching him,

Kodi felt her insides melt. She could also feel a grin on her face and correctly guessed that she also looked a bit insane. Captus looked at her, one eyebrow raised.

"What harm can a kiss do?" Kodi said to him. "A lot, I guess."


	5. Consequences

**DISCLAIMER - Tamora Pierce owns most of the story. I own Kodi, Captus, the plot, and etc.**

**CHAPTER 5**

A week after Tobe kissed her, Kodi was sitting on New Hope's outer wall. Captus had been her only companion after the kiss, because Tobe had been avoiding her. She suspected that he regretted kissing her. It was probably for the best anyway, because she didn't want to ruin their friendship.

Earlier that morning, Dom and Kel had announced their engagement. Kodi was happy for them of course, but disappointed at the same time. She really liked both of them, but she wasn't going to be able to make it. The wedding was in a couple weeks time and she wasn't going to stick around for that long. The excitement of the whole camp and the couple's joy made Kodi regret her decision, but she had been on vacation long enough. It was far past time for real work. Whatever that might be.

Stroking Captus' head absentmindedly, Kodi wished that he could speak. When she had let her wild magic out, she couldn't contact him, like Daine had said before. Still, Kodi felt as if she could trust him. She knew he was special, although she'd never tell Numair, who would probably run experiments on him. He was smart and perceived her moods perfectly. However, he never communicated beyond growls or barks.

"Hello," Daine said cheerfully. Kodi spun to her feet into a fighting stance, before recognizing who it was and visibly relaxing. "Nice reflexes," Daine commented. "How is Captus today?"

"He's fine, just like always." Kodi said carefully. She knew that Daine wanted to ask her something, just in the way that Daine was acting. She also knew that Daine was probably nervous about something.

"Oh. That's good." Daine said, twisting her hands behind her back nervously. "I had to ask you something. It's a favor." A slight smile twisted Kodi's face. So that's what this was all about.

"There is a cat that needs to be healed, and I can't do it." Daine said embarrassed. Kodi could tell that she didn't like to ask for help.

"Why can't you? Are you sick or something?" Kodi asked concerned. Secretly, Kodi thought of Daine as an older sister, but she had only told Captus. Anyone else would laugh at her.

"No, but I'm expecting." Daine said, a faint tinge to her cheeks. Kodi looked at her confused for a moment, not understanding. She had heard the term mentioned before, she couldn't place it.

"Expecting what?" she asked, feeling stupid for not understanding something she was obviously supposed to. Daine looked at her disbelievingly.

"Expecting a child. You didn't know that?" Daine wasn't being unkind, but her words stung Kodi.

"I didn't exactly have a ma to explain womanly terms to me!" Kodi snapped, furious at herself for acting so stupid. She felt guilty when she saw Daine look down quickly, face hurt and eyes filled.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't implying…"

"No," Kodi interrupted. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I was just mad. I'm sorry. About that favor?" she said hurriedly, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, well I can't heal while I'm carrying a child and there's a cat that needs a healing. I thought that maybe since you had wild magic, you could do it for me?"

Biting her lip, Kodi replied slowly. "Can't Tobe? It's not that I would mind doing it, only I haven't ever done a healing before." She hated lying even though she had perfected the art.

"Tobe can only heal horses. There isn't anyone else in New Hope. I'd like it if you gave it a try at least." Kodi nodded and followed Daine down the wall. Captus dutifully followed his master.

The cat was in the barn, mewling pitifully with a crushed forepaw. Daine led Kodi over to it and knelt down beside the cat, motioning for Kodi to do the same. Reluctantly, she obeyed.

"Alright, now you can let your wild magic out." Daine said. Kodi built up a wall around her and the cat, and then let it out. Looking towards Daine, Kodi could see her mouth moving. Sighing, she brought her wild magic back in and removed the shield. She could hear Daine now. "You can't put your shield up. You can't hear me when you do and I have to explain to you what to do."

Kodi didn't know what to do, so she lied. She had healed before, but never crushed bones, so she couldn't do it on her own. She really was tired of lying, or hurting the people she loved, but she couldn't help it. "Okay. I won't put the shield up." Kodi put on a struggling face as Daine directed her. She made it look as if she were trying her hardest. She even bit her lip until it bled.

"I'm sorry Daine. I can't. I tried." Kodi said, fighting back pretend tears.

"It's okay. I know you gave it your best." Daine slung an arm around Kodi's shoulders, hugging her. Guilt washed over Kodi.

"I have to go." Kodi mumbled and tore off.

"She lied." Numair said from the hayloft, scaring Daine and making her jump.

"Numair," she said reproachfully. "Wait, she was lying?"

"I'm afraid so," Numair said grimly. "She didn't even unlock her magic." Daine's lip trembled.

"I thought she trusted me." Daine said. "I thought that she wouldn't be afraid." Before Numair figured out what she was doing, Daine healed the cat's forepaw. Collapsing in his arms, Daine faintly whispered the words, "I loved her."

That evening, Numair had announced that his wife had taken ill and had lost the baby. Ashen faced, Kodi escaped the great hall and hid in the storeroom with Captus.

"It's my fault. I should have just healed the cat. I don't care if he finds me, but I hurt Daine. I killed her baby." Kodi started to silently cry and Captus comforted her as best as a dog could.

Minutes later, Kodi wiped her face with the back of her hand. "I can't stay around any longer. It wouldn't feel right to me, after what I did. I was going to leave soon anyway. You wanna come with me?" Captus dipped his head, a motion that Kodi took as a nod. "Good. Let's go."

The first thing to do was to steal the circlet that Kel had, the one that controlled her own. Kodi had long since figured out that Kel didn't keep it with her all the time and that it was probably in her room. A quick search provided the circlet, which Kodi put around her arm, below the other circlet. Kodi didn't want to take much in the way of provisions, because she didn't want to take more from her friends. She did need a dagger though, and she found two in a storeroom. They were sturdy, but plain, and would not be missed.

As for actually escaping, that was easy. Kodi found Fisher, the cat who she had talked to a couple weeks before. All she had to do was ask him where the secret exit was, and she and Captus were free.

'If they were free now, why did she feel sad?' Kodi pushed the thought from her mind and breathed in the fresh night air before running alongside Captus.

After her one month, three weeks and one day stay, Kodi left New Hope.


	6. Nightmares

**DISCLAIMER - Tamora Pierce owns everything but the plot, Kodi and her past, and some of the characters.**

**PART TWO: CHAPTER SIX**

An exhausted mother lay in a birthing room. The Healer held out a baby girl to her and the mother took her, crying joyfully. A toddler stands by, watching his little sister happily. A strong and tall man strides in, not looking at his wife. He asks the gender of the new baby and walks out with a sneer when the Healer tells him it is a girl. The mother's tears turn to those of grief as she strokes her daughter's cheek and holds her son's hand.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A sister and brother hide under a bed as they hear their mother crying. Their father walks in, shouting and yelling. The children wince as they hear their father beating their mother. The brother's arms are around his small sister, silently telling her that everything will be okay, even though he knows it won't be. He is already mature beyond his seven years, but even he doesn't understand the situation fully. Tears fall down their faces as their mother cries. They just want this nightmare to end, but they know it won't be over till morning.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A mother hides in a large closet with her daughter. Dresses and measuring tapes make it look as if the girl is trying on gowns, but they know differently. The mother teaches her daughter the extent of her knowledge of wild magic there. The girl's father won't let them use their magic, but the five-year old girl already knows how to keep a secret.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A coffin rests on a stone platform in the middle of a forest. The daughter weeps silently for her mother. She knows about the bruises and cuts that the elegant gown covers. Everyone present mourns except her husband, and secret murderer. He stands solidly, an unnoticeable smirk on his face. The girl throws her arms about her brother, who tries to mimic his father. He also stands solidly, but tears fall down his face. The woman, frozen in death, still looks beautiful with her brown curls splayed around her. The inscription on the coffin rings true: loving wife and dutiful mother.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A girl follows her father, trying to get his attention. He refuses to look at her.

She takes a breath, concentrating. Her dark blond hair turned to a whitish blond in an instant. She grows a couple inches and then demands that her father see her now. Her father gives her a nod of approval, the first sign that he knew that she existed. She stayed that way for years, never changing back. The weekly beatings she got were better than being unnoticed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The same girl, during that same year, watches her brother being dragged away by soldiers. Trying to chase after him, nursemaids holding her back, she screams his name over and over again. He resists, but knows there isn't any use. His father had said that his eight- year old son was trying to kill him and who could say anything different? He's sending his son to live in a tower far in the north, locked away and guarded, with only a mage for company. The girl shudders as she cries, trying to quiet herself as her father gives her a glare.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A year later, the girl has run out of tears, tired of crying. Holding her brother's cold hand, her face is as stony as her father's. She knows crying won't bring him back, just as she knows that her father poisoned him. The girl knows better than to tell anyone, although the rumor is on everyone's lips. Nothing will bring her protector and only friend back. There is no way that she'll ever see him again, apart from her own death.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - -

An older girl, with the same long white hair and cold green eyes, climbs out her window at night. The last seven years with her father had been torture. She could escape that now, as long as she hid. Hiding meant changing again, which she did. She hadn't used that form for years, but dark blond hair replaced blond and she lost a few inches. Her eyes also lost some of their chill and her features turned less regal and imposing. Hiding also meant never using her wild magic, because her father would try to find her. To him, his daughter's escape would be a show of rebelliousness that would warrant punishment. As the girl knew well, he could hurt you even if he was miles away. It was one of his skills.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

Kodi woke up from her nightmares, no different from any others that haunted her dreams, except these were memories. Trying not to fall asleep again and relive her childhood, she stroked Captus. Whining worriedly, he tried to comfort her as well as a dog could. Trying to act normal after her years of abuse and pain was hard, but she could do it. She could be strong.

After all, she was Her Royal Highness, the Princess Katoryn Rathhausak, second child of the former Warlord Maggur Rathhausak.

For the past eight months, Kodi, that is what her mother called her, had been traveling all over Scanra. She visited the towns and the cities, getting to know the people and their needs. Shifting between five different forms, Kodi had to keep from being recognized or anything. It was well worth the risk though, because she would have to know this for when she became Scanra's queen.

Kodi didn't want to be queen. She would have never thought up the whole idea if there was a better candidate, but there wasn't. She had seen enough of her father's rule to know that Scanra would fall apart and take the whole realm with it if a caring monarch didn't show up. She would have to be that monarch, even if she didn't want to be.

That brought Kodi to another problem that she had noticed during the eight months. To be a monarch, she would have to marry to get an heir. Even if the people accepted a commoner as a king, Tobe probably wouldn't like it. Kodi knew that she couldn't tell him that she loved him. He had probably found someone else anyway.

Kodi wasn't in Scanra anymore, she was in Tortall. Actually she was in the forest around New Hope. She wasn't going to go in, but she just felt comfortable around. Kodi had come to New Hope intending to see her friends again, but had thought better of it. Why would they want to see her again? She had just caused trouble and hurt people. They probably thought of her as a child. That is why she was sleeping under a tree with Captus as a pillow and why she watched New Hope with tears in her eyes.

"C'mon, Captus." Kodi said, groaning. "It's past time to get up. It's almost dawn and we wouldn't want anyone to find us. Let's move out."

Captus did get up, but dashed off instead of waiting for Kodi. Kodi would have chased him, except that the dog was running towards New Hope. Cursing him, she climbed the tree and sulked for a minute. There was nothing she could do now. Besides being big, Captus was also speedier than a deer. Looking closer at New Hope, she could see Captus walking through the gates. Kel had probably let him in. A minute later, figures on horses came out of New Hope. They were led by Captus.

"Traitor." Kodi mumbled as she jumped out of her perch. She had already decided not to see them again. There was a river close by, if she could lose her scent in that, she could get away. Running quickly, she got to the river within minutes. She could faintly hear Captus barking and shouts back in the woods. It was spring and the river was deep. Ignoring how weak she was from hunger and the beatings she had received, she splashed into the waist deep shallows.

The water carried her away instantly. Instead of swimming across, Kodi was now struggling to stay above the water. The waist deep water was soon deeper than Kodi could reach. Cursing her foolishness, Kodi grabbed a floating log and held tightly to it. Farther up the bank, she could see the riders and Captus riding to the place where she had jumped in. Holding her breath and clutching the log tighter, she ducked into the water. Kodi didn't want them to see her.

Kodi started to shiver from the cold water. Her head spun from lack of air and she had to break to the surface. Choking on water, she looked upriver to see the riders charge down the bank in her direction. Snarling, she started to kick as hard as she could to the other side. This wasn't going as she had planned. She wasn't making hardly any progress and she was getting carried further down the river.

A stretch of the river came up that made Kodi moan. There were rocks everywhere and the water was wild and white. Praying to the gods, she clung to the log and tucked in her legs against her chest. When she entered the stretch, Kodi couldn't help screaming even though she knew that no one would hear her over the river. Her body bashed against rocks and she was twisted so much that she didn't know which way was left and which was right. After one particularly hard bang against a rock, Kodi felt her ribs crack.

"I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die." Kodi chanted despairingly. She was washed over a large, flat rock, wincing as she felt her skin scrape. Dropping over the other end, the water sucked her down so fast that she didn't even have time to draw a breath. Opening her eyes, she could see light far above her head, but all around her was cold, murky darkness. After sending one last desperate plea to the gods, she choked on water and blacked out.

Finding herself warm and dry, Kodi was on a dark road. Other people walked alongside her, keeping their heads down. Amazed, Kodi looked around. They were all ages, young and old. Some were even babies, carried by others.

"I must be dead!" Kodi said incredulously. Up ahead there was a large group of people gathered around the Black God. She started to trot forward. Suddenly, the air cracked and a god and goddess appeared. The goddess was tall and beautiful and Kodi guessed her to be THE Goddess. The other, Kodi guessed him to be Mithros, and he was tall and black.

"Brother!" snapped Mithros. The Black God appeared beside him, silent. "Brother, you can't have her. We need to take her back with us." The Black God looked at Kodi, who squirmed under his gaze.

The Goddess spoke with power and authority, making Kodi clap her hands around her ears. "She is a turning point for the realm. If she dies now, the realm will destroy itself." The Black God nodded his assent and the Goddess and Mithros turned to Kodi. She knelt respectfully, kneeling on her left knee, bending her right, and bringing her bent forefinger of her left hand to her forehead.

"Daughter, you have a task set out for you. Make the right choice and do what is required of you." the Goddess said. Before Kodi could ask what exactly her choice and task were, the scene before her changed.

Kodi was back in the water, despite having spent five minutes in the Black God's realm. She found that the water's suction had eased up and she popped back to the surface. Choking up water from her lungs, she felt hands pulling her from the water. Kodi also heard voices penetrating her head. Feeling her consciousness slip away, Kodi let it go so that she could consider what the gods had told her. Maybe she let it go so that she didn't have to feel anymore pain.

Through her sleep, Kodi heard voices that she couldn't understand. She heard Daine, worried, and felt a pang of guilt. She felt awful, she was sore and battered. Kodi knew that more than half the bruises were old, but they hurt even more than the newer ones. Forcing herself awake, she kept her eyes closed and body still so that she could hear what they were saying.

"Why is she back here?" Daine said. "It's been almost a year. I'm glad to see her, but why did she come back now?"

"We don't know where she's been." Numair sounded tired. "She could be a spy or an assassin."

"Or she could have information to give us." Neal argued.

"The point is," Kel broke in, "We don't know. So let's leave her alone and let her sleep."

"I don't have any information." Kodi said, still keeping her eyes closed. She could feel everyone's eyes on her. "I'm not a spy. I wasn't going to come back. I'm going to leave now."

Kodi sat up and tried to swing her legs out of bed. It didn't go well because she had slept with sheets for the first time in half a year and she had forgotten how she got tangled in them. She was also stopped by Neal, the healer, who grabbed her shoulders to keep her from going anywhere.

"You can't go anywhere before your ribs and the bruises heal. You've also got cuts all over. What where you thinking, trying to swim the Greenwoods in spring?" Neal demanded.

"Um, nothing." Kodi said in a small voice, feeling for the circlets subconsciously. They were gone, both of them.

"Nothing is right! You were under the water for five minutes and we thought you were dead!" Neal continued with his tirade.

"I was dead." Kodi said flatly, opening her eyes and wincing at the sharp light.

"You could have died…wait, _what_?" Neal looked at her in surprise.

"I died." Kodi hid her smirk at Neal's confused expression.

"That's impossible! You would be at the bottom of the river right now!" Neal threw his hands up in the air.

"Actually," Numair pointed out, just like a scholar, "There have been numerous records of mortals returning from the Divine Realms, although it is _extremely_ unlikely that Kodi is one of them."

"From what sources?" Neal argued. Kodi quietly slipped off the bed and lurched as her muscles screamed. Daine steadied her, but Kodi avoided her eyes, shamefaced.

"From Trispan the Thronemaker and Silva the Sprite." Numair said, rolling his eyes as if it were obvious.

"Trispan was drunk the night he wrote that journal and Silva was a proven liar." Neal accentuated his words with his hands. Daine and Kodi left the room, closely followed by Kel. Neal and Numair continued to argue, not noticing the departure of the women. Kel closed the door firmly behind them.

"How are you, Kodi?" Daine asked concerned. Kodi avoided her gaze and didn't answer, examining the floor carefully. "Kodi? Are you alright?" When Kodi still didn't answer, Daine gently held her chin and turned Kodi's face toward her. Kodi's eyes were filled with tears. "Honey," Daine crooned softly.

Kodi threw her arms around Daine and her shoulders started to shake. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." Kel rested a hand on Kodi's shoulder. In a moment, Kodi pulled her head from Daine's shoulder and looked towards Kel.

"Hello, milady. How was the wedding?" Noticing Kel's very large stomach, Kodi went on. "But I guess I already know." Kel blushed. "Congratulations. You're expecting." Kodi gave a watery grin to Daine, who had taught her the term.

"Where did you go? How have you been?" Kel asked. The women started to walk down the hallway, away from the noisy debaters.

"I just traveled. I was fine." Kodi was unsure of how much she could reveal around her friends.

"You were beaten." Daine accused. "You were even beaten in New Hope." Kodi opened her mouth, ready to lie. "I don't want excuses. I know the signs and you've got them all. I want to know who's doing it and how." Daine's tone left no room for any argument.

"It's my father." Kodi studied the floor again and refused to say more.

"Is he in New Hope?" Kel said furiously. She hated anyone being picked on when they couldn't defend themselves, which is how she had gotten the name Protector of the Small.

"No. I haven't seen him for two years. He does it by magic somehow." Kodi said, looking around as if she expected him to jump out at her.

"Why didn't you tell us? Numair can make you a magical shied! He'll protect you and you won't have to worry about it anymore." Daine said excitedly.

"No!" Kodi yelled and then quieted. "He said that he'll kill me. He says that he'll kill anyone and everything that I love."

"Kodi, you can't believe him." Kel said. "Bullies usually have more bark than bite."

"He has enough of both. I believe him. He has the power and magic to kill any of you, and the will besides. I'm not going to tempt him." Kodi said with conviction.

"We would have heard of him if he has so much power." Daine was trying to convince Kodi that there wasn't any need to worry, but Kodi knew better.

"Maybe you have." Kodi said vaguely, tracing the pattern of threads on her ragged clothes.

"Have we?" asked Kel. Kodi shrugged and breathed deeply, wincing as her ribs sent sharp pain up her side.

"Where's Captus?" Kodi changed the subject abruptly, not liking the way it was going.

"He's with Tobe in the barn." Daine said. "Good luck with Tobe." Kodi gave her a sharp look. "Oh, Kodi." she said exasperatingly. "It's so obvious."

"I do like him." Kodi said feeling defensive. "I like him too much. My father will kill him when he finds out. Besides, there are other… complications."

"Your father will never find out." Kel pointed out. "And nothing is too complicated for love." At Kodi's raised eyebrow, she grinned embarrassed. "Well, some things could complicate it greatly."

"Go to him." Daine suggested. "Tell him how you feel."

"What if he doesn't like me back?" Kodi said in a small voice. "Relationships haven't gone all so well in my family. It's like one of those family traditions."

"Break the tradition." Kel said gently.

Hopelessly, Kodi threw up her hands. Rolling her eyes, she limped down the hall. Turning at the end of the hallway, she checked to make sure that they hadn't changed their minds. Seeing both of them standing with their arms crossed, she sighed and thumped down the stairs.

Walking slowly into the stables, Kodi heard Tobe singing. He had once been a soprano and even though his voice was lower now, it was still sweet and melodious. The song was a tune popular in Scanra and Kodi found herself quietly humming along. Pushing open the stable door, she winced when it creaked. Tobe whirled around. Once he saw who it was, he flew up and towards her.

Before Kodi could get a word out, his lips were upon hers and his hands under her chin. Forgetting all thoughts of explaining how she felt, Kodi leaned into his kiss. She rested her hands on his shoulders and lost her mind into a land of bliss. Abruptly, Kodi heard her father's grating laugh and heard him say, "No one you love will be safe from me." Kodi pushed Tobe away roughly.

"Never again." she said. A rough mental picture of Tobe lying in place of her brother in the coffin had come to the front of her mind. "Don't ever come near me again!" she yelled. Tobe looked hurt, but Kodi ran out.

Rough bile pushed its way up Kodi's throat. All she could see was pictures of her mother, brother, Tobe, Kel, Daine, Neal, Captus, and even Numair dead. Not even knowing that she was sobbing, she tripped her way over to some bushes. Letting out dry heaves, Kodi could hear her father's cruel laugh. Cool hands rested on her forehead and brought her hair out of the way. Holding her in his arms until she finished coughing and choking, Tobe was gentle to the one who had hurt him so much a moment before.

"Was it really that bad?" he asked nervously. Kodi shook her head, pale and waxy.

"I don't feel good. I have to go." Kodi stammered tearfully.

"Kodi, what's wrong?" Tobe asked confused. Kodi didn't answer but tore off. Captus followed dutifully.

Daine found Kodi later, in a corner of one of the storerooms. Her face was streaked with smudged tears and her hands were tangled in Captus' long fur. Daine shook her softly, bringing her into a hug. Kodi woke up slowly, trembling and shaking.

"It went bad, didn't it?" Daine asked sympathetically.

"Awful." Kodi said. "I made a complete mess of everything."

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Daine asked.

"He kissed me. I panicked and I saw corpses. I pushed him away and ran out. I threw up." Kodi spoke automatically. "Tobe thinks I don't like him now."

"You don't know that." Daine said, trying to console her.

"What would Numair think if he kissed you and you hurled over the bushes? I thought so."

"Tobe would understand if you told him about what you saw and your father."

"No one's going to tell him anything. If my father finds out that I've told anyone, he'll kill you all. Swear never to tell anyone. Please." begged Kodi.

"I swear, but you can't let your father rule the rest of your life, Kodi."

"How come you care?" Kodi asked pointedly. "Why do you care about me? I killed your baby and I cause nothing but pain anywhere I go."

"Kodi!" Daine yelled. "I never want to hear you say that ever again! You did not kill my baby! It was an accident. If anything, it was my fault." Daine calmed her voice and became quieter. "I love you. You are like my little sister that I never had."

"I never had a big sister." Kodi said solemnly. Daine smiled at her and hugged her again.

"I'm your sister now. I'll help you get through this." promised Daine. The joyful moment was ruined by Neal, who rushed in wildly.

"Where is she? What do you think you are doing? Back in the infirmary this instant!" Daine and Kodi shared a private glance. Some things would never change.


	7. Hostility

**DISCLAIMER - Mostly everything belongs to Tamora Pierce, whatever.**

**CHAPTER 7**

Kodi had to stay in the infirmary for another week until her ribs healed. Because she was so bored, she tried escaping numerous times, but Neal always caught her or brought her back. Mostly, she lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about how she was going to rule.

After her ribs were back to normal, Kodi spent time relaxing in New Hope. For the past eight months, she had traveled twenty miles a day and worked for her food. Although she still working hard, it wasn't nearly as strenuous as what she had been doing. Kodi had plenty of time to lounge with Captus, whom she soon forgave for 'betraying' her, although she was glad that he did.

Because Kel was eight months along in her pregnancy, the Crown extended a rest leave to her and Dom. Tobe was going with them to Corus, as was Daine. Numair had to stay in New Hope but Daine wanted to visit her children, which was a surprise to Kodi.

"Daine has _children_?" asked the surprised Kodi.

"Of course. Where have you been?" Neal replied and Kodi stuck out her tongue at him.

Kodi wasn't sure whether to go or not. Daine had offered to let her stay with her, and Kel had offered the same, but Kodi was worried about something else. She was a Scanren princess. What is she went into the heart of Tortall and needed to get back quickly to help her country?

Kodi really wanted to go though, and justified her decision but telling herself that she would work while she was there. She would work by learning how King Jonathon ruled his country. She knew that she wasn't prepared to be a leader yet, and this would help.

Two weeks after Kodi had returned to New Hope, the small group left on horseback for Corus. Neal, Daine, Kel, Dom, Tobe, Kodi, and two squads of the King's Own made up the group. Captus kept up easily besides the trotting horses. Kodi was in line next to Tobe, which was awkward because they hadn't talked once since the kissing incident. Kodi was too embarrassed even to look at him and spent most of the ride staring down at the saddle.

Once they got to Corus, Kodi forgot all about the miserable ride. She was no stranger to large cities, but Corus seemed different somehow. The city was inside a valley, with a river running through the middle of it. Inside the city was the castle with high walls and towers. Once inside the castle, Kodi knew the difference. There weren't any tapestries of bloody wars. There weren't soldiers everywhere, dragging prisoners to interrogation rooms or something.

Kel and Dom, and Daine all had rooms in the palace. Tobe slept in the stables near the horses he loved so much. Daine offered to let Kodi stay in her rooms, and Kodi was glad to accept. If Numair had been there, she would have declined because she was just a little bit scared of him. When Daine went to pick up her two children, Kodi left to explore the palace. It was in the evening and she would have taken Captus, but she couldn't find him anywhere.

Within half an hour, Kodi was completely lost. Wandering aimlessly, Kodi started to get very frustrated. The corridors were empty and Kodi suspected that she was in the underground lower levels. Kel had described them to her as a "rat's warren" and Kodi suspected that she might be here for a very long time. Hearing noises in the next hallway, Kodi's mood brightened as she turned a corner. Seeing where the noises were coming from, she stopped cold.

Two older, uniformed boys were punching and kicking a much smaller boy, who was resisting. Memories of her father bullying others made Kodi so furious that she saw red. Striding over to the boys, they didn't see her until too late. Like her friend had once taught her, Kodi fought unarmed. She doled out kicks and punches and took what she got without faltering. Finally, the older boys left the fight, mumbling something about finding better stuff to do. Cursing their backs loudly, Kodi forgot the smaller boy.

"Thanks." he said. "They must really be bored. Squires don't usually bother pages." Kodi looked at him in surprise.

"You're a page?" In Scanra, pages started training at age fifteen. Although Kodi had known that the system was different in Tortall, she hadn't thought that this small boy was a page.

"It's my first year." The boy explained. "First year pages always get pushed around by some of the older pages. It's called hazing. My name is Hartok."

"I'm Kodi." The two shared a handshake that was made slippery by their blood.

"Come on," Kodi said. "We need to get you to a healer."

"No." Hartok insisted. "Pages don't rat out anyone who they get into a fight with. It's an honor code."

"You're hurt bad though."

"It doesn't matter. Some of my friends have been hurt worse."

"Aren't you supposed to say that you fell down or something?" Kodi remembered Neal saying something about Kel saying that a lot.

"Yes, but that's only if you get caught. Beron and his crowd are good at not getting caught." Hartok spoke matter-of-factly. "It's better that way."

"Hazing is one thing, but they hate you." Kodi said. "Why?"

"It's because of Fianola and Johanna." Kodi liked his frank way of speaking.

"They're killing you over girls?"

"No, well, yes. It's complicated. Fianola and Hanna are both fourth-year pages, but Fianola's older by two years." Hartok misinterpreted Kodi's raised eyebrows. "Yes, they're pages and they're the best. Don't say anything bad about them in front of me." he said defensively.

"No," Kodi said bursting into laughter and Hartok flushed angrily, "That's not what I meant. Lady Keladry is one of my friends. If I said anything bad about lady knights I'd find myself speared in my bed." Hartok's anger disappeared.

"You know the Protector of the Small?" said Hartok eagerly and Kodi sniggered.

"Yes, but don't let her hear you call her that. She hates that name, although it suits her."

"You have to come with me." Hartok was pulling her through the halls by her hand.

"Um, where are we going?" Kodi said. "I don't really care, because I had happened to be lost anyway but…"

"Fianola and Hanna will want to talk to you about the Protector. They have so many questions about her."

Kodi let herself be dragged through the corridors until they got to a staircase. Hearing a lot of people upstairs, she stopped Hartok.

"I'm sorry but we look awful. We can't go up there."

They did look awful. Hartok's face was bruised and his broken nose had bled all over his page's uniform. Both his eyes were swollen and blackened. Kodi's nose had also bled on her clothes and she had most likely sprained her wrist. The fight had bruised her stiff and oversensitive ribs again. She only had one black eye, but one squire's nail had scratched her cheek and it stung.

Hartok stared at her with dismay. "They'll kill me if I don't bring you to them." Tapping his chin thoughtfully, Kodi waited patiently for his solution. "I got it! I can get to the page's wing without being seen and we can clean up a bit there."

Instead of walking up the staircase, they walked down another hall and up a different staircase. Following Hartok, Kodi tried not to get hopelessly confused and didn't pay attention to where they were going. Hartok turned into a corridor that had rows of doors on each side. He stopped before one door with his name on a slate on it. He touched his thumb to the doorknob and whispered his name.

"Beron kept breaking into our rooms so Ryne made a spell for us." Hartok said as way of explanation. Hartok showed her to the washroom, and Kodi hurriedly washed the blood off her face and tried to get it off her shirt. Hartok brought her a tunic that was too big for his and she pulled it over her own shirt. Hartok had changed also and Kodi helped him wash the blood off his face.

Trotting quickly through the halls without talking much, Hartok led her to one of the small page libraries. Opening the door, he barged in wildly. Two girls and four boys looked up when he did.

"Hartok, you startled us!" accused a tall lad with green eyes and brown hair.

"It doesn't matter!" Hartok started to tell the pages about Kodi, but was interrupted.

"Have Beron and his dogs been bothering you again?" asked the older of two olive skinned girls with brown hair and eyes.

"No, but…" he was interrupted again.

"Hartok, you can tell us." A black haired boy insisted.

"Well I have been fighting," Hartok admitted with a grin, "But it didn't bother me!"

"It bothers us!" snapped a red headed boy.

"Shut up!" shouted Hartok. When the resulting quiet came, Hartok continued. "This is Kodi. She knows the Protector."

"We didn't even see you there," said the black haired boy. "I'm Jasson." Kodi knew him as the prince, but he didn't seem the type to want extra attention. Kodi just shook the hand he offered and his look of gratitude confirmed her guess.

"He's a second year." Hartok said. Pointing to the tall boy, he kept going. "That's Jerom. He's a third year." Jerom took her hand and kissed it, making Kodi flush. "And a hopeless romantic." Jerom let go of her hand to tussle with Hartok.

"I'm Fianola." said the older of the two girls. "That's Johanna. We're both fourth years, but I started two years late." Kodi shook their hands. Jerom had Hartok in a head lock.

"I'm Ryne. I'm a first year." The red head had blue eyes and had the air of a mage about him.

"Stop it," Hanna said, pulling the two boys apart. "She's going to think we didn't bring you up right." Her comment made everyone in the room laugh.

"Old Paddy's tough on manners." Hartok explained to Kodi.

"Old who?"

"Padraig haMinch, our training master, wants us to be well behaved." Ryne explained.

"You know the Protector?" Fianola asked eagerly.

"I lived in New Hope with her and traveled down to Corus with her." Kodi said, trying not to brag.

"What's she like?" Hanna was wriggling with excitement.

"She's quiet, but strong." Kodi wondered if they had heard about Kel's expectance. "She got married to a squad leader in the King's Own and she's expecting."

"Really?" Fianola said. Kodi nodded.

"She's our hero." Hartok said. "When we get in fights, we choose them like we think the Protector would. It's palace legend that she wouldn't stand for bullying."

"We try to fight it, like she did." Jerom said.

"We patrol the halls like she did." Jasson added eagerly.

"Only, I think it's harder for us. There are fewer pages this year and most of them are on Beron's side." added Ryne.

A boy who had sat in the corner, unnoticed and hidden, walked forward. "It _is_ harder for us. We also have to fight the criticism of the conservatives who are mad about the Protector being one of the best knights in Tortall, and who don't want any more Lady Knights to prove them wrong." He shook his blond hair out of his blue eyes. Holding his hand out to Kodi, he introduced himself. "My name's Burch. It's a pleasure to meet you." After shaking her hand, he limped out of the library, closing the door behind him.

"Burch of Stone Mountain." Fianola said almost sadly. "His brother was killed in the Chamber before the Protector was knighted."

"He was born with a bad leg, but he didn't let that stop him." Jasson said with awe and respect in his voice. "Burch is a third year and he fights like a machine. He's one of the best, but he only fights when he has to. He also supports female knights and all the changes which the monarchs have made."

"I don't know," Kodi said, "But at least he's got manners.

A sudden scratching on the door made all of them jump. Holding a finger to her lips, Fianola padded silently to it and jerked it open. Kodi laughed as Captus bounded in and sprang at her.

"It's just my dog." Kodi said, trying to brush dog hair off her tunic, which was actually Hartok's tunic.

A bell tolling above them made Kodi jump. The pages laughed at her.

"We used to do the same thing." Jasson assured her.

"We should get back up to our rooms." Hanna told the rest of them. "Lights are out in half an hour." Sighing, the pages gathered up their books and papers. Kodi helped Hartok, who had twice as many papers as the rest of them.

"Punishment work," Hartok said sadly, gesturing and scattering papers. Captus pushed one paper across the floor with his nose, away from Hartok. Watching him chase the dog, the pages and Kodi laughed until their sides ached. Captus finally abandoned the paper and they got on their way.

Trotting quietly through the halls towards the pages' wing, the pages seemed wary of something. Their suspicions seemed to be correct because turning a corner, a row of pages and squires stood in their path.

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" sneered a tall youth with dark hair.

"That's Beron." whispered Hartok to Kodi.

"Is this the one who stopped you from beating up the little snipe?" asked Beron. He took a step towards Kodi, but Captus started to growl, and Beron took a quick step back.

"So now you're getting little puppies to fight for you?" a Bazhir squire spoke from the back of the crowd.

"Nothing different from what Beron's been doing since he picked all of you up." Fianola snapped, rolling her sleeves up in a deliberate motion. Her friends, including Kodi, copied the motion.

"We're not fighting you when you have that dog on your side!" said Beron boldly, although Kodi guessed that he was nervous.

"He won't be fighting with us. Captus, don't join in. Leave us alone for this." Kodi directed the last two comments at her companion who stood loyally at her feet. He nodded in a movement that only she caught.

"You trust them?" asked a page of Beron's.

"More than some dogs I know." Jasson was as calm as he had been in the library. A page started forward, but Beron grabbed his collar to hold him back.

"If you weren't the prince, I'd kill you for that." Beron said sharply. Jasson flushed angrily and he clenched and unclenched his fists.

"Try and thrash me." Jasson dared. Beron threw back his head and laughed.

"Not when you'd go running back to your daddy." A squire spoke through Beron's laughter. This time it was Hanna's turn to grab Jasson's collar to keep him from running at the group. Beron picked up where his friend left off.

"That's just what royalty does, isn't it? Picking fights and running back for royal protection when they're done?" This time Ryne also had to grab Jasson's arm to keep him back. Kodi's face flamed and she tensed up, but no one really noticed until she spoke.

"King Jonathon's sons have honor. They are the Crown's protectors." Kodi said furiously. "You are picking the fights. Most of you are puppets of your fathers' and you think you act on your nonexistent minds." Kodi's friends looked at her in surprise and Beron's in anger.

"We act on our own!" A broad shouldered squire said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Then how come Beron is your leader?" Jerom asked. "If you acted on your own, a bunch of squires wouldn't be threatening pages. How much did Beron pay you to fight tonight?" Beron made a rude gesture towards Fianola and Hanna and that triggered the rousing fight.

Fianola went straight towards Beron, fists at the ready. "Beron's dogs" mixed in with the pages in a brawl. Kodi gave Captus another 'stay out' look and threw herself in. She punched the Bazhir squire in the face when he was beating Hartok. She shot out her leg and kicked him hard in the chest. Looking around quickly, Kodi could tell that while they were fighting hard, Fianola and her pages were losing. They were holding their own for now, but the stronger squires would beat them in the end. Cold fury rose in her. Squires shouldn't pick on younger pages.

Kodi got hit hard in the face and fell back, but she didn't feel it. Springing up again, she head butted the page who had punched her. Ryne was fighting another page and didn't need help but two squires had teamed up against Hanna. Kodi flew in, knocking one down, and wrestling with him on the ground. Pulling him up, she slammed him against the wall. He fell to the ground and she left him there. Fianola had held Beron back for a while, but now his age and size were the advantage. Knowing that her friend wouldn't like her to step in, Kodi looked elsewhere for a place where she could help.

Jerom was lying slumped on the floor while two squires and one page kicked him. Kodi jumped on a squire from behind and wrapped her hands around his neck. Rage pumped through her veins and red flashed before her eyes. The other squire and page started to beat on her and Kodi felt it, but it didn't hurt her. She squeezed the squire's neck tighter and he started to run out of air. The other two tried to pull her off, but she didn't release her hold. Finally, Jasson shouted at her to stop and Kodi shoved the choking squire away from her. The other two grabbed him and ran down the hall.

"Servants." choked out Fianola, who definitely looked the worse for wear. "Let's go now. Hurry." Kodi eased out of Hartok's now bloody tunic and gave it back to him with an apology for dirtying it up. He just laughed.

Fianola, Hanna, Jerom, Jasson, Ryne, Hartok, Captus, and Kodi ran as silently as possible through the halls. They managed to avoid all the servants, who would bring them to the training master. Dropping the boys off at their rooms first, Hanna and Fianola were last to be dropped off. Outside their rooms, the three girls stood around looking at the ground for a minute.

"I like what you're doing." Kodi said awkwardly. "Becoming a knight and all."

"Thanks for helping us out tonight." Fianola said. "We all would have been worse off if you hadn't come. Hartok wouldn't have even made it to our library."

"Nothing to thank me for." Kodi fumbled with Captus' chain around his neck that served as a collar. "I can't stand bullies. I've had some trouble with them."

"You can hold your own now." Hanna sounded awed. Kodi didn't like people sounding like that about her. She wasn't anything special. "You almost killed one of them."

"Guess I must have lost my temper a little." Kodi mumbled, making the two girls laugh.

"You can sure fight though." Hanna said. "We have an hour after dinner free. Usually we go to the practice courts. You could come practice with us if you want." she said hopefully.

"I'd love that." Although both eyes were blackened and swollen, what you could see of the eyes sparkled.

"Till then. Will you be able to find your way back to your rooms alright?" Fianola asked.

"No, but Captus will." Kodi bid them goodnight and followed Captus through the hallways.

Walking through the halls, Kodi was startled when she turned a corner and saw someone walking towards her. Kodi didn't even wait to see who it was before shifting into a fighting stance and stepping back into the shadows. Captus walked forward though.

"Goddess, Kodi. What happened to you?" It turned out to be Daine and Kodi winced. She wasn't sure she wanted to tell her friends about her involvement with a subtle war going on with the pages and squires.

"I fell down." Kodi silently thanked Hartok for giving her an excuse.

"You did not!" Daine pulled Kodi into the light and gasped. "Kodi!"

"It was a very long flight of stairs and I kind of rolled as I went down. It hurt a bit." Kodi said cheerfully.

"I'm sure. I'll talk to you about this later. Right now, King Jonathon wants to talk to you."

"What? Me?" Kodi squeaked. What if he knew about her being the princess and all? Adding to her fear, her wounds from both fights were finally beginning to hurt. Her shirt and breeches were bloody, mixing with the old blood from the first fight that day. Her left wrist was even more sprained now, because of the second fight. Her ribs hurt more and Kodi suspected that it was cracked. Both eyes were black now, and her jaw was also bruised. The scratch on her cheek was raised and swollen.

"It's probably because of you being a prisoner, but it might be because of your magic. He talked to me when I was new to Tortall." Daine said reassuringly, leading Kodi and Captus through the halls.

"You gonna be there?" Kodi was ashamed of being nervous, but she had bad memories of her father interrogating people. They weren't pretty.

"Of course." Daine hugged Kodi's shoulders as they walked. Both were silent until they entered a small room in a tower.

"Hello, Jon." Daine said to a black haired man with blue eyes who was definitely Jasson's father. "This is Kodi."

"Good evening Kodi. It's nice to meet you." The king's voice was smooth and cultured. Kodi almost curtsied, but bowed deeply instead. Oddly, Captus also dipped his head.

"So, Numair tells me that you lived in Hamrkeng before you were brought to New Hope. Is that true?"

"I was born there, sire. I haven't actually lived there for a couple of years, your Majesty." Kodi answered truthfully, knowing that they probably had a truth spell on her.

"Why did you leave?" he questioned. Kodi wasn't going to answer _that_.

"City was going too cramped for my tastes." She spoke with a straight face.

"Numair says that you are an example of the Magical Healing Deflective Theory. Do you know what that is?"

"Yes, your Majesty. I don't know what he means by it, though. I haven't been hurt enough for it to be effective on me, sire." Kodi smiled sweetly.

"You're lying." said King Jonathon wearily, yet amused. "Numair also says that you show the signs of beatings." Kodi looked sharply at Daine, but Daine looked surprised. The wise king had picked up Kodi's small motion.

"You look like you've been beaten right now." he remarked.

"I fell down, you Majesty." Kodi said innocently. "I'm very clumsy that way, sire."

"All that for one fall?" the King asked, eyes sparkling.

"Well, I fell twice actually. I wasn't paying proper attention to where I was walking. The second time, I was roughhousing with Captus."

"Who is Captus?" the King asked.

"He is my dog, sire." Kodi gestured to the dog, who walked towards the king and raised his paw. Kodi's respect of the king grew when King Jonathon solemnly shook the dog's paw.

"You know that he's special, don't you?" The king asked thoughtfully.

"Well-trained, yes. I don't know about special. He is smart, but maybe he spent time around a wildmage before he came to me."

"You're lying again."

"Maybe just a little bit." Kodi said straight-faced.

"Numair says that you're a wildmage, but you won't use your magic. Lady Keladry says that you changed your eye color once. That isn't wild magic." Kodi clamped her mouth shut. The king leaned forward, reaching into his pocket and bringing forth a small bottle. "Do you know what these are?"

"No, your Majesty." lied Kodi and the king sighed.

"As you know, these are truthdrops. If you don't tell the truth, I will make you drink some. I could also search your mind."

"Fine. Captus is special, but I don't know how." Kodi spit the words out.

"What about the beatings?" The king gestured to her bloody clothes and mangled appearance.

"I wasn't beaten. I got into a fight. Two, actually." Kodi said. Daine raised her eyes to the heavens as if asking for help from the gods.

"With whom?" King Jonathon raised one eyebrow.

"I won't tell you, sire." The king nodded with something like approval.

"Did you hold your own?"

"They'll show it tomorrow, if that's what you're asking." Kodi tried to hide a huge yawn. The day had taken its toll on her.

"I can see that you're tired, but there's one last thing. I want you to swear fealty to the Crown and Tortall." As soon as King Jonathon said that, Kodi froze.

Who had ever heard of a monarch who had sworn fealty to another country? If she swore her fealty to Tortall, she couldn't become Scanra's queen and end the bloody throne.

"Your Majesty, I can't do that, sire." Kodi was nervous, sure that the torture chambers would come next.

"The truth spell tells me that you aren't lying, but then why can't you swear?" The king sounded confused.

"I can't tell you that either. I can tell you that I would never intentionally do anything to hurt Tortall." Kodi said firmly.

"You speak the truth." sighed King Jonathon. "You may go."

Kodi bowed again before she left, Captus and Daine following her.

**Please Update Soon - I literally live for updates.**  



	8. Friends

**DISCLAIMER - T.P. owns most of the stuff in my story but I own the plot, or rather, Kodi owns the plot, as she decides what happens.**

**CHAPTER 8**

The next morning, Kodi woke up early to a loud bell. Daine and her two children were still asleep. Kodi eased out of her cot and quickly made her bed. She pulled on a soft, white shirt, loose breeches, and sturdy boots that reached up to her knees. Tying her hair back with a cord, she stared at herself with amusement. I look like a noble, she thought. Wanting to complete the look, she put on a golden chain belt and hung her dagger on it. She was used to waking early from her months of hard traveling, and she had no desire to sleep in. Also, from what she had seen of Daine's children last night, she didn't want to be exposed to their wildness any more than she had to be. She would never tell Daine that, though. Grabbing a half loaf of bread and a wedge of cheese, Kodi ate as she traveled.

Walking through the halls with Captus at her side, Kodi wandered aimlessly. She wasn't worried about any of the squires jumping her in the halls because from what Daine had told her, they were kept hard at work during the day. During their walk, Captus started to lead and Kodi absentmindedly followed. They wandered for about half the day, ate a quick lunch in a kitchen, and continued wandering.

Finding herself in front of a pair of wooden doors with a sun on them, Kodi reached for the iron handles. Pulling the doors open just a crack, Kodi slipped in and shut them behind. She couldn't honestly say why she had come here, but she felt drawn to it. The room was a chapel with benches. It was otherwise unfurnished, but there was an altar covered with a gold chain cloth and golden candlesticks sat on it. Behind the altar there was a golden sun disk on the wall. To the right of the disk there was an iron door. Kodi slowly walked towards it, ignoring Captus' warning growl. Nervously, she touched the door and winced when she heard a voice.

_Greetings, Princess. _Kodi jumped back and looked at Captus.

"Am I going crazy, dog?" she asked. She wasn't really reassured when Captus nodded. Reaching forward, she touched the door again.

_You are not going mad. _The voice said. _I am the Chamber of the Ordeal. _

"The one that squires take?" Kodi was surprised.

_The very one. _The Chamber sounded smug.

"I'm not a squire. Why are you bothering with me?"

_You have a task to complete. _

"That's what the gods told me. I'm going to be queen of Scanra, or I'm going to try. I just don't know how."

_What are you planning to do here?_

"I was planning on learning how to rule a country."

_Don't worry about that. You can already rule better than your father and his predecessors. Learn to make friends and love._

"Well that's helpful." Kodi said sarcastically. "Just forget about ruling a country and have a good time. I'll be sure to take up your advice on that, Chamber."

_Good. Next time you want to talk me, I won't do it through the door._

"Well, good-bye for forever, because I'm never going into your chamber. People are killed there. Besides, only squires go in and aren't you supposed to only deal with them?"

_I have many purposes. Goodbye till next time._

"There won't be a next time!" Kodi retorted but only silence followed. "C'mon Captus. Let's go make friends." she said mockingly as she strode out of the chapel, closing the doors quietly behind her.

Captus disappeared almost the moment they left the chapel. Mumbling something about stupid, lazy dogs, Kodi mindlessly wandered. Admiring tapestries and suits of armor, she was redesigning the Hamrkeng Palace in her mind. She did away with the tapestries of the bloody conquests and moved them into a dark, damp storeroom. Kodi made changes to her palace for half through the afternoon. Immersed in her thoughts, Kodi didn't notice the king and queen until she bumped into the king.

"I'm sorry, your Majesty. I didn't see you, sire." Kodi wasn't worried, but she played the part of the upset child and stammered.

"It's no trouble, my dear." The queen spoke kindly. She was the most beautiful person Kodi had ever seen. She had black hair and ebony features.

"Ah, just the person I wanted to see." King Jonathon said it in a way that made Kodi sneer. She had thought that the King had forgotten about her being a Shifter, but she was wrong.

"I did some research on your ability to change your eye color. It wasn't an illusion because Kel wears griffin feathers that allow her to see through illusions."

"You researched it yourself? Don't you have servants to do that for you?" Kodi decided to just speak her mind for once. Thayet chuckled and Kodi flushed. Maybe the speaking her mind wasn't a good idea.

"You haven't had much experience with royalty, have you?" King Jonathon said with a grin. Kodi almost corrected him, but she caught herself just in time. "We are normal people."

"I wouldn't go that far." Kodi mumbled.

"Anyway, there are a group of people that are called Shifters. Have you ever heard of them?" Kodi put on a blank face.

"Shifters? I don't think so. Maybe I just don't remember."

"Can you change more than just your eye color?" Queen Thayet asked.

"I wouldn't know." Kodi lied. "I've never tried."

"You really can tell us the truth. We could really learn a lot, if you are a Shifter. They usually hide their skills and keep to themselves." The king sounded sincere, but Kodi wasn't sure. Then, remembering what the Chamber had told her, Kodi trusted these monarchs who she barely knew.

"Yes. I'm a Shifter. I can change my whole body if I want to and it's not just an illusion." Kodi threw her years of hiding to the wind and blurted the words out. The look of astonishment on their faces was worth it a hundred times over.

"So you could change into any body shape in an instant? Can you imitate other peoples' images?" The king sounded impressed.

"What I tell you will stay here and no one will ever hear of it." The last time Kodi had sounded so imperious was when she had ordered her lady-in-waiting to leave her alone for the night. That was the night that she had run off.

"We swear by the gods that we will not tell anyone without your permission. If you don't trust us, we could swear a blood oath." King Jonathon fumbled at his belt knife, expecting her to make them swear in blood.

"I trust you." Kodi mentally kicked herself for being so trusting. "Yes, we can change into any body shape, but it isn't immediate. It takes a long time the first time we change into a shape and it makes us tired. We usually pick a variety of forms and stick with them."

"What about imitating other forms?" Queen Thayet asked eagerly.

"That's very difficult, but we imitate it as best as we know the other person's body."

"Can you switch genders?" The king sounded like Hartok, asking questions excitedly.

"Would I want to?" Kodi's face was a mask of disgust just thinking about it.

"Could you?" King Jonathon asked again.

"I don't know and I'm never going to figure out." Kodi almost gagged when she further thought about it. "Nothing inside my mind changes when I switch. It would be… awkward."

"To say the least." Queen Thayet said dryly. "Would you mind showing us the form that you were born in?"

"This is the one." Kodi said with surprise. Did they suspect that she was part of the Rathhausak line? She doubted it.

"Well, another form then. Please." King Jonathon pleaded.

Kodi couldn't very well change into the Scanran princess's form, so she picked her third most used form. Her body size didn't change much, but this form was stockier than the Kodi form. The form had dark and curly hair that went halfway down her back. She had her mother's laughing blue eyes and soft features. Kodi's mother had taught her to Shift, although she herself couldn't do it. Her Third form was prettier than her Born form, but not as beautiful as her Princess form. Being a Shifter was so complicated.

"Fantastic." King Jonathon breathed. "I've never seen anything in the like. Can you imitate voices?"

"Not really. Voice cords are hard to change. They're like fingerprints, every one is different. I could never get a perfect match." Kodi in her Third said.

"How could someone with your special abilities in Scanra escape the former King Maggur's notice?" King Jonathon asked thoughtfully. Kodi changed her Third into her Born form.

"My mother didn't ever let me Shift. She never told anyone."

"You could be lying." Queen Thayet pointed out.

"It would be plausible." Why was Kodi being so cursed trusting? A bell rang overhead.

"Ah," said the King, "We had a meeting that we were supposed to be at five minutes ago. Thank you for your time, Kodi." Offering his arm to the queen, they went down the hall.

Cursing the Chamber and its ancestors for making her so foolishly trusting, Kodi sat down in a niche and waited for Captus to find her. She was still hopelessly lost, beyond knowing which direction she had come from.

Kodi waited for about half an hour, but Captus didn't come. Sighing, she walked down the hallway that she had come from and took random turns after that. These particular hallways were deserted of anyone. Hearing clangs and clashes of steel, Kodi swiftly and silently followed the noise.

Instead of a bloody battle scene, a group of pages were apparently practicing their sword skills in a practice court. Fascinated, Kodi crept along the shadowed wall. Her teacher had only taught her how to fight unarmed and with daggers. This was something new.

"Do you need something?" a sharp voice asked. Kodi jumped; she hadn't heard the man. At first she stared at him in surprise. He was tall and tanned with dark brown hair and piercing black eyes.

"No, sir. I was just watching. I'll leave now if you wish." She bowed politely.

"You don't seem the type to watch the pages because they're lads." Was he inwardly laughing at her?

"No, sir. I was watching the swords mainly." Twisting her hands nervously, Kodi hoped that he'd let her stay. She might have learned something by observing.

"Who are you?" The question was so unsuspected that Kodi stared at him again before answering.

"I'm Kodi of, well, Scanra I guess."

"Ah, you're that one." He said thoughtfully. "Can you fence?"

"No, sir. I'm going to learn though." Kodi didn't like when adults asked her questions that might somehow be possibly connected to her past.

"Why not start now?"

"Sir?" Kodi was surprised.

"I'm their training master. I also have the Sight. Something tells me that I should let you practice with the pages."

"Does it tell you anything else?" Her voice was sharper than usual, because she was afraid that Padraig haMinch might be able to tell you she was.

"Should it?" He was beginning to scare her, with all his questions.

"Of course not. I'd like to learn, if you could help me." She replied honestly. Turning around, he strode over to the pages, who were still practicing. Kodi followed.

Grabbing a wooden practice sword from a barrel, Lord haMinch handed it to her. She tried to hold it as she would a dagger and the training master nodded at her grip. He taught her a couple of different strikes and blocks. Kodi learned quickly, not finding it too much different from fighting with daggers. After an hour or so of learning, Lord haMinch deemed her ready to practice with the pages.

They hadn't noticed her yet, they were drawn in to their sparring and a glance away would result in a painful strike. Lord haMinch addressed the pages while Kodi waited in the shadows.

"Pages! We're going to try something different today. I want you all to split up in groups of four. Once you have your teams, choose another group and have a mock battle. Do not try to harm each other, but work on technique and unarming your opponent. Stone Mountain, come here please."

Burch gracefully limped over, shaking sweat out of his eyes. "Yes, my Lord? he said with a bow.

"I want you to spar with this girl here. Go easy on her; she is just beginning." After speaking, haMinch left the pair to observe the pages and make comments.

"Hello, Burch." Kodi said awkwardly. She wasn't sure if she should show that she had already met some of the pages.

"Hi, Kodi. Shall we start?" Burch was patient and he went through his blocks and strikes very slowly. Kodi was grateful for the younger boy's consideration and his help. She soon got the hang of it and was returning his blows with confidence. Kodi was having so much fun that she didn't notice when the dinner bell rang. She followed Burch and put her practice sword in the barrel like the other pages did. The pages mingled and talked; the training master was nowhere to be seen.

"Kodi, what are you doing here?" Ryne ran his hand through his wavy red hair, shaking off sweat.

"She was learning fencing like the rest of us! What did you think?" A very red faced, but grinning Hanna said. Fianola, Hartok, Jasson and Jerom came over to join them, both winded.

"I wasn't near as good as the rest of you." Kodi said honestly.

"You're a natural." Burch said seriously. "You'll learn fast."

"Thank you, but I don't believe it."

"Don't believe it. Burch tells that to all the ladies." Jasson said smiling. Burch lightly punched him on the shoulder.

"So how did you convince haMinch to teach you?" Fianola asked curiously.

"I didn't. He offered and I wanted to."

"He offered?" Hartok exclaimed.

"That's what she said, numskull." Jerom said, making a face at Hartok. Hartok in turn, jumped at Jerom. They wrestled around again and Kodi guessed that this was a usual procedure. The other pages just ignored them.

"Do you want to eat dinner with us?" Burch asked quietly.

"I don't know." Kodi bit her lip. "I would, but I'm staying with Daine. I left before dawn and she doesn't know where I am."

"You're staying with the Wildmage?" Hartok spoke from the ground where he fought Jerom's hold.

"That's what she said!" shouted Ryne and Hartok grinned sheepishly. Jerom made another face at Hartok and the mock fight continued.

"We have a couple minutes to clean up before we have to be at dinner. We could find her so that you could tell her." Hanna suggested.

"You just want to see the Wildmage!" Fianola accused with a grin. "I do too."

Kodi nodded and hauled Hartok off the floor, brushing off his tunic. Jerom also got up, smiling woefully.

"Do I get the same treatment?" Jerom teased. Kodi blushed, although she knew that he was joking. Although Jerom was a couple years younger than her, they were close enough in age for Kodi to be embarrassed. The pages and Kodi left the training court and walked through the halls.

"Hush up!" Fianola told Jerom. "You know she didn't mean it that way. More like the little brother type." Kodi nodded her agreement.

"Alright." Hanna said. "I don't know where the Wildmage's chambers are, so you can lead now." Kodi stopped as if pole-axed. The others looked to her expectantly.

"I have no sense of direction." she told them. "That's why I was lost when I found Hartok."

"I know the way." Jasson assured her, hiding a smile like the other pages were doing.

The group of friends laughed through the hallways until they got to a more deserted part. Sensing something was not right here, and she whispered instead of talking.

"What is it?" she whispered to Fianola. "Beron's Dogs" was the short reply.

"Hartok said they rarely bothered the younger pages." Kodi was confused. There seemed to be a real feud going on between Beron's Dogs and this group of pages.

"He lied." Jasson hissed. Fianola held a finger up to her lips and glared at the two. They fell silent. Sneaking through the halls, Kodi felt a bit foolish. What if no one was waiting and they still snuck around?

Daine wasn't in her rooms, so Kodi just left a note. Dinner with the pages was noisy yet fun, and the time passed quickly. After dinner, Kodi and the pages went to the library where they had been the previous night. Kodi helped them with their schoolwork as best as she could, but found an interesting book on Scanra. She had managed to read a large chunk of it before the lights out bell rang. The pages gathered up their books and papers and left quietly, hoping to avoid any of their servants or teachers. Most of the palace was asleep by the time they finally left the library.

Fianola must have been right about being quiet in the hallways, because Beron's Dogs lay in wait for them around the corner. Sneering, three pages and two squires lay in the midst of a empty corridor. There was more of Fianola's crowd, including Kodi, so numbers would not have made a difference. Beron's Dogs however, broke the unspoken page laws and they carried short, stout staffs. Although there was eight of Fianola's crowd, they would most likely lose this fight.

"So now you need sticks to beat us?" Hanna taunted.

"No. We need sticks to spank the children." A handsome Bazhir page retorted.

"You talk of children, but you insist upon keeping grudges that should have been released long ago." Burch reasoned with Beron's Dogs, hoping to avoid an unnecessary fight. Kodi was awed by his maturity.

"We only hold grudges because you accept these unworthy females to fight alongside men who are tainted by their presence!" Beron shot back.

"They are worthy!" Hartok protested. "They have to fight squires which _you_ never had to do."

"We will not allow girls to fight alongside us and get us killed!" The long-haired squire from the past night snapped; Travon.

"You'd rather get yourself killed?" Kodi asked with a snarl. "It's rather tempting at the moment."

"As if you could touch us! You're just another female. You wouldn't be worthy to lick my feet." Travon scoffed.

"I guess I'm not your type then." Kodi scorned. "You prefer the men for that sort of thing."

Travon charged her then, with his staff out in front of her. He was angry and off-balance; she easily whipped the staff out of his unsuspecting grip. She threw the staff to Fianola, who grabbed it and blocked the dark haired Beron. Kodi ducked Travon's fist and kneed him in the groin.

"That's what I think of your so-called manhood!" She hooted and looking around the hallway, she checked up on her friends. Hartok, Ryne, and Jerom were grappling with a fourth-year page and his staff. Jasson and Hanna were wrestling with another fourth-year for his staff. Burch was blocking a third-year's staff with his bare hands and kicking and punching like a Shang master. Watching him in awe, Kodi forgot her own opponent.

Travon jumped at her legs and Kodi came crashing to the floor. Slapping the ground as she fell, Kodi rolled and tripped Travon in the same movement. Wrestling with him, Kodi soon realized her mistake. Travon was stronger and larger than her, although he wasn't too much older. He was soon on top of her and beating her with his large fists. Just like last night, anger filled up Kodi's head until she couldn't think. Not even knowing how she did it, Kodi forgot the pain and head-butted him hard. Travon reeled back and Kodi pressed him to the ground. Her head was bleeding from the impact, but she didn't realize it. This time it was Kodi's time to punch him about his head and shoulders.

Someone grabbed her from behind and choked her with his arm; one of the fourth years who was called Danus. Twisting around, Kodi couldn't break his hold and her vision started to cloud as she gasped for air. Doing the only thing she could think of, Kodi rolled. Danus rolled with her, and she crushed him under her. _He_ wouldn't be getting up for a while, she thought triumphantly.

Travon and Danus were on the ground, along with the third year Quariton. Jasson and Hanna were still wrestling with Shar, the Bazhir fourth year, but it seemed like they were winning. Hartok lay on the floor while Jerom and Ryne knelt by their friend. Danus had obviously beaten them with his staff. Looking around for Fianola, Kodi immediately noticed trouble.

Beron had her backed up against a staircase when Fianola was trying to block his wild strikes without falling backwards. Tottering on the edge, Fianola was quite off balance. Kodi held her breath, suddenly filled with terror for her new friend. Hearing her gasp, all of Fianola's pages looked up.

At that moment, Beron gave a victorious shout and shoved Fianola backwards. Giving a scream that Kodi would never forget, Fianola fell out of sight, tumbling down the stairs.

**PLEASE REVIEW**

**I thank those who have reviewed: Aly the Trickster, Rown of Cantre, DetectiveLivvey, Insouciant and SpectralLady**


	9. Prices

**I know that this was a bit shorter than my other chapters, but I'm sorry. It was mainly just a filler. I made some changes to the last chapter, changing when Fianola fell down the stairs. Before it was before lunch, now it was after lights out.**

**CHAPTER 9**

Time stopped until Fianola's cry faded from the air. All of the pages and squires were frozen and didn't even move when they heard the sickening crunch. Hanna was the first to react. Sobbing for her sister, she brushed past Beron and flew down the stairs. Jasson and Ryne were quick to follow. Hartok was white with fear and tears fell down unnoticed on his face. Jerom supported the beaten boy. Burch and Kodi stood next to each other, too scared to move.

Beron stared down the staircase in shock and started to run down the hallway. That triggered Kodi into motion. Making an impossible leap, she tackled him and they both crashed to the floor. Kodi didn't even know that she pulled her dagger out until she saw it against Beron's neck.

Beron's face was a mask of fear. Kodi pressed harder and willed herself to make the final cut. She couldn't.

"Don't do it." Burch said, resting a hand lightly on her shoulder. "Killing him won't help Fianola and she needs your help now." Kodi struggled with herself for a moment and then slipped the knife into its sheath. She turned her back on Beron and gave him not a second thought.

Burch and Kodi quickly walked to the staircase to see their fallen comrade. Behind them they could hear Beron's Dogs picking themselves up and leaving, but they only focused on Fianola. Gritting her teeth, Kodi just prayed that Fianola wasn't dead.

As soon as Fianola came into view, Kodi unknowingly started to cry. The unconscious girl's leg lay at a strange angle and blood trickled down a huge gash on her forehead. Her breathing was shallow and her face was as pale as death. Her friends knelt by her, too surprised to act. After Fianola, Kodi was the oldest there and took the action upon herself.

"Jasson!" Her voice came out high and there was a lump in her throat. "Run to Duke Baird and get him down here quick." Jasson obeyed, running faster than anyone had ever seen him run. "Ryne, do you know any healing magic?" He shook his head fiercely, squinting to hide his tears.

"Kodi," Hanna's voice was broken by sobs. "Fianola wouldn't want us to tell." Kodi nodded. Sometimes the stupid page honor worked in her favor. If they told, no doubt the adults wouldn't let Kodi get her proper revenge. No one hurt Kodi's friends and got away with it.

Fianola moaned in pain and Kodi wondered what was taking Duke Baird so long. Leaving Fianola with Hanna and Ryne, Kodi went back up the stairs to look after Hartok and Jerom.

"Is she bad?" Burch asked. He was also pale and his eyes were overly bright. He hadn't wanted to look at Fianola.

"She's," The words came out a sob and Kodi cleared her throat. "She's not good. At least her leg's broken and she's knocked out. She's not breathing too well either." Burch nodded, his face frozen in sadness.

The ten year old Hartok dissolved in tears and Jerom ran down the staircase to check on his friend for himself. There just children, Kodi thought. They act and think older, but they're just children. Kneeling down, Kodi hugged Hartok as best as she could without disturbing his own cuts and bruises.

"Will she be alright?" Hartok stammered, his eyes wide with fear.

"Of course. Duke Baird's the best healer in all of Tortall. Hush now." Kodi motioned for Burch to come sit by her, but he shook his head. Kodi understood; Burch wanted to prove that he was strong, although he was as affected just like the rest of them.

"How's she doing?" Kodi called to Hanna and Ryne. At first there wasn't an answer, just the sounds of Hanna weeping and Ryne's sniffling. Ryne was able to keep his sniffles back for a moment to answer Kodi.

"She's the same." He called back up the staircase.

Just then the Duke hurried around the corner, led by the frantic Jasson. Pushing the sleeves of his dressing robe up, his hands already brimmed with magic.

"Where is Fianola?" He asked wildly. "You didn't move her did you?"

"No," Burch was calmer than Kodi or Hartok, but even he had to fight back the tears. "She's at the bottom of the staircase."

The Duke rushed down and Jasson came over to sit by Kodi.

"I'll stay with Hartok, if you want to be by Fianola. The boys and Hanna probably need you down there anyway." Kodi heard Jasson's unspoken message: I don't want to see Fianola all broken up like that again. Kodi silently handed Hartok to Jasson. Jasson and Burch sat down and leaned up against the wall, both closing their eyes.

Padding down the stairs quietly, Kodi tried to not disturb the duke. He was already healing Fianola. Hanna, Jerom, and Ryne stood nervously. Hanna had her sobs under control now and they matched Ryne's sniffles. Standing beside them, Kodi didn't know how much time passed before the duke stood up.

"We need to get her up to the infirmary where she can rest and finish healing. Can two of you go to the infirmary and fetch a stretcher for me?" Jerom and Kodi immediately volunteered. Assuming that Jerom knew the way, Kodi followed him. He did know the way and they returned shortly with the stretcher. After carefully placing Fianola on it, Jasson, Kodi, Jerom, and Burch each grabbed a pole and lifted the stretcher gently. Hanna walked behind the solemn procession, finally gotten control of her tears and now comforted Hartok and Ryne. None of the pages or Kodi was crying now.

After laying Fianola on a soft infirmary bed, the Duke sent Burch to Lord haMinch with a written message about the evening's events. Duke Baird didn't heal the other pages' hurts because he had to wait for permission from haMinch, unless it was life-threatening. Waiting for their training master, the pages sat on a bed and Kodi joined them. Suddenly, she seemed exhausted and it was a struggle to keep her eyes open.

Within minutes, Lord haMinch strode into the infirmary followed by a sleepy eyed Burch.

"Where is she?" The training master demanded. Duke Baird came over to talk to him.

"Fianola had fallen down some stairs. I won't know the extent of the damage until she wakes up. I have healed her as much as her body will allow."

"How did this happen?" Lord haMinch overlooked Fianola with a caring eye.

"The pages won't say." Duke Baird told him. It was true. They had said that it was Fianola's choice to tell the story.

"What happened to you?" The training master asked Hartok. Hartok was caught off guard, but quickly recovered.

"I tripped, your Grace."

'The others tripped with you then?" Lord haMinch asked sternly.

"I don't know, I didn't see."

"I saw." Kodi startled herself when she answered. "Hartok tripped and the rest of us fell over him. He didn't see because he was face first on the ground." The pages looked to Kodi gratefully for creating a story for their weary minds.

"Do you wish me to heal them?"

"Just the ones that are worst off. Pages must learn not to be so clumsy." Lord haMinch said it in a manner that told the pages that he knew they had been fighting. The duke quickly healed Hartok and Ryne.

"If they might go to bed then?" questioned Duke Baird. "They have been through a lot tonight."

"They may go." The training master said wearily. "I do expect you to be on time for page training in the morning. Your midnight escapades do not excuse you from learning." The pages bowed and left quietly. Kodi was too tired to stand.

"Kodi of Scanra, you may continue to practice your fighting arts with the pages if you wish."

"Thank you, sir. I will I think."

"You better get to bed, child." Duke Baird said gently.

Kodi didn't even remember how she got back to Daine's chambers. She thought that maybe Captus came and helped her find her way back, but she couldn't remember. All she knew for sure is that when a worried Daine opened the door when she knocked, she blacked out.

Kodi slept late the next morning, only awakening when Daine woke her up. Groggily, she literally fell off her cot. She was dressed in one of Daine's soft cotton nightgown that Daine had probably had to put her in. Kodi's head ached; she sat on the floor and held it in her hands. Daine came back to Kodi's closet, as Kodi affectionately called it, carrying a steaming cup.

"Here," Daine handed the cup to Kodi. "It's for the headache." Kodi took a sip and almost spit it out. Forcing herself to swallow it all, her headache almost eased immediately.

"Are you going to tell me what happened last night?" Daine said with raised eyebrows.

"I fell down." Kodi winced as she remembered Fianola. "I have to go to the infirmary. One of my friends fell down too. She isn't doing so well."

"What about you?" Daine insisted. "You are all bruised and broken."

"I'll be fine. Pages take more than this in training and still get out of bed in the morning." Kodi pulled on a pair of loose, black breeches under her nightgown.

"You can check on your friend but then you have to come right back. You need your rest." Daine said matronly.

"I had plans today." Kodi protested as she jerked off the nightgown and pulled on a white silk shirt and scarlet vest. "I was going to practice with the pages. They start after noon and I have just time to visit Fianola before I leave."

"You have to stay and rest. Otherwise you won't heal."

"You're not my mother!" Kodi snapped, instantly regretting her words when Daine winced.

"I know. I just thought that we decided that I was your older sister. As your older sister, it is my job to look out for you."

"I just want to do what I want." Kodi said apologetically. Daine stared at her for a moment and then smiled.

"I think I understand. I sometimes felt the same way when I was your age. Go on." One of Daine's children, Rikash, started to wail and Daine left Kodi's room. Kodi took the moment to put on her gold chain belt and dagger. She left silently so that Daine wouldn't get another chance to convince her to stay and sleep.

Jogging through the halls, Kodi passed noble after noble. She laughed at their shocked expression at a girl in breeches running through the palace when the pages were in training. She made it to the infirmary in just a matter of minutes, although she didn't have Captus there to lead her. Slowing down to a walk, Kodi hoped that Fianola was better when she entered the infirmary.

Fianola was sitting up and drinking some broth. When she saw Kodi, she looked up with a bright smile.

"I'm glad that someone came to visit me." The girl said wryly. "I'm bored almost to tears."

"We were so worried about you!" Kodi blurted. "Oh, but will Beron pay!"

"Are the others all right?" Fianola asked. "Duke Baird said they were but I wanted your opinion."

"The duke healed the worst of our hurts. We were so worried about you that we didn't notice anyway."

Kodi talked with Fianola for as long as she could until Duke Baird shooed her out. Captus was waiting outside the infirmary and he led her to the pages' practice courts. After Captus left her there, Kodi shook her head at her dog's strange behavior. When she entered the practice courts, all of Fianola's friends looked to Kodi with a question in their faces. Kodi smiled and nodded fervently. Her grin quickly spread to their faces.

"Ah, Kodi of Scanra, I was wondering if you had decided not to join us." Lord haMinch said cheerfully.

"No, my lord. I overslept and visited the infirmary." she informed him with a bow.

"We were just practicing unarmed combat. Have you had any previous training in this?"

"Yes, my lord. I was taught a few years ago, but I've been practicing ever since."

"We'll see what you can do then." The training master said simply. "Stone Mountain, you did well with her yesterday. Spar with her and see what she can do." Burch nodded and limped over.

All the pages stood in a circle, wanting to see how the best page fought this newcomer. Normally, Lord haMinch would have berated them and made them train, but he didn't. He evidently wanted to watch as well. Nervously, Kodi wiped off the sweat on her hands.

Burch circled her intently and Kodi watched him warily. He made the first move, snapping out a fist. Only a slight movement from his chest told Kodi that it was a feint. She avoided his kick and threw a sharp punch, which he blocked. With new respect in his eyes, Burch was a little less confident of himself.

This time, it was Kodi's turn to attack. She punched ferociously, making Burch be on the defense. Using a trick that her teacher had taught her, Kodi grabbed Burch's arm and twisted him over her hip. Burch hit the ground but was back up in seconds. Now having an idea of their opponent, they both attacked in unison.

Burch and Kodi were hard to distinguish from another as they turned and twisted. At first it seemed as though neither were gaining the advantage and then Kodi's age and size began to pay off. Although Burch was better trained, Kodi wasn't far behind, and she was two years old and that much bigger. Kodi hooked her leg around Burch's legs and pulled sharply. Burch twisted and hit the ground, slapping it and rolling. Kodi was waiting for him though, and got him in a headlock that he couldn't get out of.

"I yield." Burch raised up his hands in defeat. "Well fought, Kodi." Kodi released him and they shook hands. The pages were in shock.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Lord haMinch demanded, eyes twinkling.

"I learned from a friend in Hamrkeng. I couldn't tell you his name; I don't know it." Kodi explained breathlessly. Sweat was running down her forehead and arms.

"That was amazing!" A page said.

"No one beats Burch!" Another awed first year spoke loudly.

"Well, Kodi beat me fair and square." Burch said good-naturedly. Once again, Kodi was awed by his maturity and friendliness. Many boys would be bitter that they had been bested, but not Burch.

For the rest of the afternoon, the pages worked on staff fighting and fencing. Kodi could tell that she had improved and made herself promise to buy a practice sword so that she could improve even more. Scanra's queen should be a swordswoman. Even though she didn't want to rule, she could turn Scanra upside down. She would start by allowing women to become knights and starting the page training earlier. Laughing at the thought, Kodi found a staff at the base of her neck.

"You're insane." Jerom informed her. "I beat you and you laughed. You're insane." That made Kodi start giggling and Jerom rolled his eyes.

When the dinner bell rang, Kodi left to find Daine. Captus was waiting for her and he led her back to Daine's rooms, although Kodi was starting to learn her way around. She wanted to reassure Daine that she was still alive and breathing. She also wanted to apologize more for the morning. Entering Daine's rooms, Kodi flinched. Numair was in the room, Daine in his arms. Backing up slowly, Kodi tried to make her escape, but Daine saw her.

"Kodi, I thought I told you to not over exert yourself!" Daine scolded. "If you tire yourself out, your body won't heal."

"I'm fine." Kodi said shortly, not wanting to talk much in front of Numair. She wasn't afraid of him, but her last encounter with a powerful man hadn't left her on the winning side. She was just a bit wary.

"We have something to ask you." Daine told her. "You and I already decided that we would be sisters, but I wanted to make it official. Numair and I wanted to adopt you, not as a daughter, but as a sister."

Kodi's ears rushed. Being the sister of the Wildmage might prove complicated when she was queen, but Kodi really wanted to agree. Besides, hadn't the Chamber told her to make friends and forget about being queen? It probably knew more about life than she did.

"I'd like that." Kodi finally said. Daine was looking like she had lost hope, and brightened when Kodi agreed.

"Then it's official." Numair was also smiling. "There are papers; we can fix those. Also, you will need to be presented to the Court."

"By the Goddess, WHAT?"

**Review and I will update sooner. I really do love reviews, even a word would make me happy, although I'd be slightly disappointed if five people reviewed and I only got five words.**


	10. Capture

**CHAPTER 10**

Kodi descended the Grand Staircase, resting an arm on a squire's. She was nervous, but she was not new to court functions. Of course, this was her first Tortallen court ball. The courtier had announced her as Lady Kodiann Salmalín and that had gotten the court's attention. (Kodi had added the –ann onto her name just because it sounded better) Kodi felt eyes upon her and her hands were sweating, but she made it down the staircase without mishap.

Once she reached the floor, the squire escorted her to the monarchs. Kodi had spoken to them before, but all seemed different when she was dressed in a blue gown and the whole court was watching her.

"Good evening, my lieges." Kodi gave an elegant curtsy.

"Welcome to Tortall, Lady Kodi." said King Jonathon. Kodi wrinkled her nose at the lady, and Thayet hid a smile.

"Thank you, your Majesties." Kodi curtsied again and the squire whisked her away. As custom dictated, she had to dance with the one had brought her down the staircase. After that dance a knight asked Kodi to dance, and Kodi agreed. She had missed court, for all her running and hiding. After that dance, Kodi made her excuses and stood with Daine for a bit.

"You looked very nice." Daine's eyes twinkled.

"It was the dress." Kodi mumbled, although she flushed at the compliment.

"No, my dear," Numair spoke like a perfect gentlemen and Daine giggled. "You must have been born for court functions." Kodi was glad that she had an excuse for knowing the way of the court; for the last month, she had taken dancing lessons and etiquette.

"Kodi?" Jasson appeared in royal finery. "You didn't tell us that you had gotten adopted." he accused.

"You didn't tell me that you were going to be here tonight." Kodi shot back. "That makes us even."

Jasson threw his hands up in the air. "Alright, you win! Besides, I only knew that I was going for two days." Kodi snorted.

"Anyway, my brother wanted me to introduce you to him." Kodi looked up interested and Jasson chuckled. "He didn't want me to tell you that he wanted me to introduce you to him, but what are little brothers for?" Jasson offered his arm and Kodi gave it to the younger boy.

Jasson led her over to a taller boy who had the characteristic Conte black hair and sapphire eyes. "Liam, would you care to meet the Lady Kodiann?"

"Would my lady care to dance?" Prince Liam asked.

"I would, your Highness." Kodi took his arm gracefully and he whisked her out to the dance floor.

Kodi watched the prince beneath lowered lashes as they danced. He was very handsome in his squire's regalia and Kodi was interested. She knew that she shouldn't complicate things, but could there be any harm in making friends with the son of a King? Almost guiltily, Kodi thought of Tobe but immediately dismissed the thought. He had gone back to New Hope about a month ago with Neal.

"I didn't catch where you were from." Prince Liam tentatively asked.

"I was born in Hamrkeng, your Highness. I just recently arrived from New Hope."

"Are you Numair's sister?" The prince seemed genuinely interested.

"No, they both sort of adopted me as a sister." Kodi smiled up at Liam.

"Jasson told me that you practice unarmed and fencing with the pages. Can you shoot a bow at all?"

"I can use a longbow, but I have to admit that I'm not any good at it. I bet you are though, squire and all." Kodi wondered if this was flirting; if it was, it was fun.

"I wondered if you might be interested in a hunt. It's tomorrow at dawn if you could come."

"I don't know." Kodi said. "Are you inviting me or just informing me of it?"

"I'd like you to come." Liam said honestly.

"I'll be there then." Kodi told him just as the dance ended. Liam bowed and Kodi curtsied and they separated. Kodi found Jasson at her side once again.

"What did you think of him?" Jasson asked, trying to make it look as if he was uninterested.

"None of your business." Kodi blushed and Jasson fought back a laugh.

"So I guess that you're going to the hunt tomorrow." Jasson smirked.

"Maybe. I might miss practicing with you pages because I have to talk to Daine." Kodi made an excuse and Jasson grinned and shook his head. Jasson's father, King Jonathon motioned to his son. Jasson gave an apologetic look towards Kodi and went to his father.

Dodging whirling couples, Kodi made her way over to another corner of the ballroom where she had seen Kel a moment ago. Kel was still there, talking to Dom and the Knight Commander.

"Hello, Lady Kel." Kodi curtsied, trying not to stare at Kel's huge stomach. Her baby was due any day now, but Kel was tired of resting. She had said that going to a ball was better than resting in bed all day.

"What have you been up to?" Kel asked teasingly. "I haven't seen you since you were announced."

"No where. You should be resting." Kodi accused.

"Nonsense." Kel protested. "I'm fine."

"It seems to me that anyone who is able should escape these balls." Raoul said bleakly. "If I was a woman, I'd plead bed rest and escape from every function."

After Kodi's inquiring look, Dom explained. "Lord Raoul hates these court functions. If the king didn't order him to come, he would be here. It's the same with his wife, Lady Buri. The queen had to order her to come." Kodi and Kel stifled laughs as Raoul scowled.

"How do you like your first Tortallen ball?" Kel asked.

"It's my first ball." Kodi said with wide eyes. "I like it very much, my lady."

"Has the prince asked you for a dance yet?" Dom teased, not knowing how close he was to the truth. Kodi didn't even grace him with an answer. Instead, she changed the subject.

"What's wrong with the king?" She asked, pointing to the monarchs. King Jonathon had a face like stone and he was tense.

"Oh, that." Raoul sighed. "He had to call an emergency meeting about some Scanren matter."

"Some of Scanra's nobles sent a message to him about the Duke who will eventually take the throne. Apparently, they don't like him at all." Buri, the former commander of the Queen's Riders, came up behind the group.

"What can they expect the king to do?" Kel questioned, resting a hand on her large belly.

"They probably want him to support a rebellion if the Duke Traviat takes the throne. Either that or name a better successor." Raoul massaged his temples as he spoke and Buri patted his shoulder comfortingly.

"I thought that all of Maggot's family was dead though." Dom pointed out. "Didn't he kill them all?" Kodi shrank back, trying to look inconspicuous and failing miserably.

"You lived in Hamrkeng." Kel said. "What do you know about the royal family?"

"The royal family was kept hidden, almost. It wasn't like in Tortall. Commoners didn't really know much about the family. All I know was that the queen, prince, and princess died." Kodi hoped that her face was kept honest.

"Commoner?" Dom said. "You're a noble if I ever saw one." Kodi was about to protest, but her defense was interrupted by Kel.

"Look! There's the Lioness!"

Dom grinned amused at the excitement in his wife's tone. "You think that she would have gotten over the thrill of meeting her hero by now. They've talked often enough." He grabbed his wife's arm before she started to walk over. "She's coming, she's coming. Besides, you know what the Duke Baird said about moving any more than you had to."

"I know, but I have to talk to Lady Alanna about something. I haven't had the chance since she and the Baron just got back from Pirates' Swoop." Kel looked reassured when she saw for herself that the Lioness was indeed coming over.

"Hello, Raoul. I thought you'd be hiding over here in the corner." Alanna gave her friend her biggest smirk and then turned to Kel. "My husband said that you left a note. Did you wish to talk?"

"Somewhere private, perhaps." Kel suggested with her Yamani face on.

As the two women turned to leave, another man walked towards the group. When Kodi saw him, she paled visibly, promptly turned a ruddy shade of purple, and went back to white. Dom, Raoul, and Buri stared at her, alarmed at her strange behavior. The man, however, didn't even notice Kodi.

"Hullo, old man," The man clapped Raoul's shoulder. "What have you been up to?"

"George, do you know her?" Raoul responded, pointing at the teenager who was still staring. After George looked at Kodi, he gave a soft 'Mithros.' Kel and Alanna turned around to see what the matter was.

After firmly confirming the identity of the man who stood before her, Kodi bowed. She didn't curtsy as she had to the monarchs, but rather the way she had bowed to the gods. She bent her right knee and rested her left on the ballroom floor. She bent her back and her head almost touched her right knee. Her left hand came up to touch her forehead in the Scanren gesture of respect.

George looked almost as surprised to see Kodi as she was to see him. Realizing that nobles had started to notice and whisper, George grabbed her arm and lifted her up. "Before I started askin' about what in Mithros' name you're doin' here, let's get to somewhere private." he hissed. Kodi nodded slowly. She almost looked completely cowed.

"George," Alanna touched his arm. "Would you mind if I came along?"

"I think that this would just turn into a headache that I don't need." Raoul offered his arm to Buri and they went to prove to the monarchs that they did come as they had been ordered.

"I think we'd all like to know why she just bowed to you like that." Kel said seriously.

"Very well." George said and Kodi mumbled something unintelligible that he ignored.

The group followed George and the reluctant Kodi. Numair and Daine saw them leave the room and met up with them. Seeing Kodi's sulking face, Daine immediately knew something was amiss.

"What did she do this time?" Daine asked, looking sternly towards Kodi.

"I didn't do anything!" Kodi protested weakly.

"Wait." That one word was George's only reply.

Once George, Kodi, Alanna, Kel, Dom, Daine and Numair had found a private room where they wouldn't be interrupted, chaos began.

"What in all that is just are you doin' here?" George yelled.

"I could ask you the same thing!" Kodi fired back.

"I thought I told you not to follow me!" George threw up his hands exasperatingly.

"If you haven't noticed, I've my own life and I wouldn't follow you if the King himself paid me!" Kodi shouted with her fists clenched. The others in the room were trying to look uninterested, although they were following every word.

"You still haven't explained what you're doing here!" George started to pace back and forth in the small room.

"Neither have you, so we're even!" Kodi sneered.

"I'm sorry to interrupt anything that might be going on her, but do we get an explanation?" Daine asked, tightlipped.

Kodi and George glared at each other for long moments. Numair started to tap his leg impatiently.

"I'm sorry. I just…" George was cut off by Kodi.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten angry." Kodi looked down at the floor. George crossed the floor in three big steps to give Kodi a bone-crushing hug.

"It's good to see you." George's tone was not one of anger anymore, but of friendship.

"How do you two know each other?" Numair asked.

"I had to go to Hamrkeng on some business a couple of years ago. I met Kodi and taught her how to be a street kid."

"You taught her how to be a street kid?" Daine looked confused.

"Well, she was a no…" Interpreting Kodi's glare correctly, George changed what he was going to say. "…a novice and I taught her skills that she needed to know to survive."

"He saved my life, many times." Kodi informed everyone.

"And now, look at you!" George exclaimed. "You're adopted by the Salmalín family and presented to the court like a noble!"

"We're just lucky that she let us." Daine laughed. Kodi gasped, but hid it by a hoarse laugh. A bruise appeared on her arm, half-hidden by the sleeve of her gown.

"Who were your parents?" The sharp Alanna asked, purple eyes piercing. Daine glared at her.

"Um, I don't know my mother or my father. I grew up as a servant in the home of a wealthy noble. That's how I know how many court manners. I learned from the nobles' daughter. We had been friends before she grew up." Gulping, Kodi stole a glance at George. George nodded, a motion so small that you could barely notice it, telling Kodi that he would cover for her lie. Kel knew better though.

"You told us about your father." Kel's mind was hard at work behind her mask. Her eyes told Kodi that much.

"A hostler was near as much as my father as anyone to get. He's my father now."

"A simple hostler wouldn't have the magic that you told me that he had." Kel accused. Daine's eyes were full of pain upon the realization that her sister had lied to her. Kodi felt guilty once again, but she didn't want to tell the truth. She was saved by an unsuspecting servant who came into the little room.

"Lady Alanna, Baron of Pirates' Swoop, Master Numair and Wildmage, your presence is requested at the largest meeting room by His Majesty." The servant held the door open for the requested persons.

"You go on ahead." George's eyes were grave. "I'll catch up in a bit." Kodi gulped at the expression on his face. Lady Alanna, Numair, and Daine followed the servant out of the room.

"Kel, we better get you back to your room." Dom forcefully led her out of the room, ignoring her feeble protests.

"I might not have the time right now, but I will unravel your lies." George said firmly. "Years ago, you told me that you were a noble. I knew it to be the truth. Now, you're making all sorts of stories up."

"No." Kodi laughed. "I try to keep it simple, like you taught me." George ignored her.

"I'm also going to find out about the magical beatings that you get." He left the room, wasting Kodi's innocent expression on Captus, who arrived just as George left.

"What's a dog like you for?" Kodi said woefully. "You're an escort, more or less. You better be at the hunt tomorrow. I haven't spent a lot of time with you, you've been disappearing so often." Captus nodded his agreement and the pair walked slowly down the hall.

The next day dawned crisp yet sunny when Kodi led her chestnut horse out of the stables. For once, she had let out her wild magic without any shields and she loved the change. Kodi could hear the animals near her in her mind and she could talk to them. Her wild magic also helped her with her horse. She had borrowed him from Daine and he was a young stallion who was sure that he knew best. Talking to him and explaining helped, but he reared once or twice.

Luckily the stallion and Kodi made it to where the hunt was to meet without any serious detriment, and Captus even came. Instead of waiting in the pack of hunts-dogs, he came and stood by Kodi proudly.

"I'm glad that you showed." Kodi told him primly, mounting the stallion and arranging her skirt. "I was beginning to think that you had forgotten me." Captus shot her a skeptical look.

Horn calls pierced the air and the mass of nobles on horseback started to head toward the Royal Forest. At first, Kodi didn't know anyone who she was riding by, but in a few minutes, Prince Liam was riding next to her.

"Good morning, Lady Kodiann." he said with a half-bow that he executed with grace upon horseback. "I see that you came to shoot, not just ride." Prince Liam gestured to her unstrung longbow and grinned.

"Yes, your Highness. I thought that I might need more practice."

"Don't expect to get too much. Lord haMinch allowed the pages to come along. They're up in front with bows strung and ready. And call me Liam, please."

"Then you must call me Kodi, your… Liam." They grinned at each other for a moment, before a jealous court lady called to Liam. Grimacing, he plastered a clearly fake smile on his face and slowed his horse. In a moment, Jasson interrupted Kodi's pleasant daydreams.

"We didn't know that you were coming." Jasson informed her. "I just saw you. Why don't you ride with the pages? My lord said that you could." Kodi answered him by nudging her mount into a canter and beating him to the pages.

"Hey, Kodi!" Hartok yelled as Kodi ruffled his straw colored hair.

"She's right next to you, dimwit! You don't have to yell." If Jerom and Hartok could have found a way to wrestle on horseback, they would have done it.

"Jasson told us that you were presented to Court last night." Hanna grinned. "You didn't even tell us."

"It wasn't anything big." Kodi mumbled.

"You're probably the first noble to say that." Ryne said seriously.

"I bet that Lady Alanna and the Protector didn't like being presented at court." Fianola protested. She had fully recovered from her fall. Beron's Dogs had also left them alone for the past month, although that might have had to do with Beron being off with his knight master.

"I don't know." Kodi told them. "That's not exactly what I talk to Kel about. I'll ask her though."

The horn blew and the pages rode out to see if they could shoot the deer.

Tyther, Scanra

The man moved stealthily in the darkness, hiding although no one would recognize him. He was growing weaker and his form might not hold. Slinking through the longhouse, the man didn't notice the royal soldiers. They got him before he could run and a burly officer hit him over the head with a stout staff.

Before the man even hit the ground, he was changed into his tall, white-haired, and cold blue-eyed form: Warlord Maggur Rathhausak.

Corus, Tortall

Kodi and her page friends lounged in a library, bellies full after dinner. They laughed and joked, doing homework at the same time. Burch was the first one to notice Kodi bite her lip in pain and turn an unearthly pale. Fainting, Jerom caught Kodi before she hit the stone floor.

**Review or I'll make Kodi die and I have the power. (laughs maniacally)**


	11. Excuses

**I know that this is a short chapter, but I've got a really good part coming up soon. Besides, I'm going to wrap this story up in a couple of chapters. I've already got the basic plotline for my next fanfic. **

**CHAPTER 11**

Shaking and shivering, Kodi lay on a cot in the infirmary. Mumbling in Scanren, she didn't notice the worried occupants of the room. Numair and Duke Baird sat on stools next to the cot, conversing in low tones. Daine sat on another stool, holding her sleeping children. Captus paced the room in long strides, growling deep in his throat. Finally, Duke Baird turned around to tell Daine what was going on.

"She's being beaten through magic. Unless we know who is doing it, Numair can't block it." At this point, the duke looked at Daine expectantly. He and Numair had decided that if Kodi would have told anyone, it would be her foster sister.

Daine bit her lip. Surely this situation excepted her from her promise to Kodi? "It's her birth father."

"I thought she said that she didn't know her real father." Numair argued.

"I suppose that she lied." Daine said, downcast.

"Well, that information might help." Numair rolled up his sleeves of his shirt. "I'll see what kind of spell I can work up." Black magic hummed in the air around him. Daine rocked her two children as her forehead was creased with lines.

All of a sudden, Kodi started to thrash wildly about, screaming. Captus started to howl and Daine's children woke up and wailed. Numair withdrew his magic hurriedly and Duke Baird tried to still Kodi. Kodi's wild screams turned to sobs of pain and she started to repeat something in Scanran over and over again. Daine set her children down and ran to the cot.

"Shush, it's alright." Daine grabbed Kodi's hand and held it tightly. "Numair, can't you do something?"

"I can't. Some kind of magic prevents it." Numair turned and picked up his squalling children, trying to do some good. Captus stopped howling and padded over to the cot, where he pressed his muzzle to Kodi's forehead. Duke Baird was about to nudge him away, when deep red magic showed between the two. Numair saw the magic out of the corner of his eye and turned suddenly.

"Does that dog have the Gift?" Numair asked incredulously.

"That dog is no dog!" A certain short, red haired figure said from the doorway. Alanna walked into the infirmary, closely followed by King Jonathon and George. Holding a crystal trinket that hung around her neck, her violet eyes stared at the before mentioned dog-that-wasn't-a-dog. "He's imprisoned by his own magic."

"I'll see if I can release him." Numair rubbed his hands together.

"Don't hurt him!" Everyone turned to look at the speaker; Kodi had sat up, and was looking much better. "He might not be a dog, but I don't care. He hasn't hurt me."

"Kodi, are you all right?" Daine asked in much like a pleading manner.

"I'm fine. You can't hurt Captus. He's my friend." Kodi folded her arms and tried to look very determined. The effect was ruined by her pale appearance and shivering body.

"I'm not going to hurt…" Numair was interrupted by King Jonathon.

"Numair, not now." After Numair looked at him questioningly, King Jonathon sighed. "We've had reports from our spies from Hamrkeng. King Maggur was executed under an hour ago."

"What!" Numair shouted. "Never mind the dog, we've got problems to work out Jon." Numair wearily followed King Jonathon out of the room, handing his children to a nursemaid who waited outside. Duke Baird also left with the men.

"Your fit had too much of a connection to be happenstance." Alanna coolly informed Kodi, who gulped. George nodded his agreement.

"Is your father Maggur?" Daine asked, eyes horror-filled.

"Of course not!" Kodi's throat tightened as it always did whenever she lied. "He was a noble. He was in Maggur's inner circle. He would have been mad. If I was at home, he would have beaten me."

"You told us that you didn't know your real parents and that you were a commoner!" Daine accused.

"I lied?" Kodi forced a too-wide and obviously fake grin. "It doesn't matter who my father is. Captus fixed me. He won't bother me now, not with the magic that Captus put on me." Still in her cot, Kodi wrapped an arm around her dog.

"I agree with Numair." Alanna broke the silence. "We have to find out who your dog really is."

"I like him how he is." Kodi suggested, but shrugged when George gave her a raised eyebrow look.

"My lass is right." George said. "Maybe he wants out of the dog form. No telling how long he's been in there."

"He's been in there about ten years." Alanna finished inspecting Captus with her magic. "That's all that I can find out." Kodi gasped and her hand flew to her mouth, tears in her eyes. When the others looked at her, she just shrugged and shook her head.

"What's the matter? You have to tell us. Do you know who this dog is?" George questioned.

"Yngve, you'd think that you'd be on my side." Kodi complained to George. After Daine and Alanna gave her strange looks, she threw up her arms. "What?"

"What does Yngve mean?" Daine asked.

"It's Scanran for master, which is what I called him when I was on the streets."

"Nice try for changing the subject." George said. "But we still want you to tell us." Kodi was staring at the wall as if the answer might be plastered on it, but Numair saved her. Charging in the room, he interrupted them.

"George, Alanna, and Daine, we need you in the meeting. We're trying to find the princess, Maggur's daughter. It's either her to rule or the duke."

"I thought that she was dead." Daine stood up and hugged a stiff Kodi goodbye.

"No, that was the prince." Alanna said. Still arguing, they left the room. Kodi could finally breathe again. Wanting to get out of the too quiet infirmary, she asked Captus to take her to the infirmary.

"Could you be my brother?" Kodi asked as they walked through hallways. "No, that's impossible. You're dead. I held your hand with you dead. I held your hand as you lay there! You were so cold!" She screamed.

Hanna poked her head around a corner. "Um, Kodi?" She spoke uncertainly.

"I'm fine." Kodi said brightly. "Forget that. What are you doing?"

"We're trying to get through the hallways without meeting any teachers because it's after lights out. We think Beron's Dogs are trying to jump us."

"Captus and I will help you out, right boy?" Kodi turned to look at her faithful companion to find out that he was not so faithful. He had disappeared again. "I will help you, in any case." Turning the corner, her friends waited for her.

"Are you alright?" Fianola asked worriedly.

"You just conked out!" Ryne informed her.

"Like the good lover I am, I caught her in her faint." Jerom flourished and nearly lost his balance. Everyone in the group ignored his antics.

"I'm fine now. It won't happen again." Kodi reassured them.

"Hush, listen." Burch pointed to around the corner. When they were all silent, they could barely hear the quiet footsteps.

"Let's surprise them." Their leader, Fianola, told them. Holding up fingers, she counted down from three. Then, Fianola's friends all jumped out at Beron's Dogs, fists at the ready.

Unfortunately, Fianola, Kodi and the pages did quite a bit of damage to the two hapless squires and themselves before they righted out the mistake. Hastily apologizing, they were mortified that they had just attacked Prince Liam and his friend, Squire Alan. No one could be more embarrassed than Kodi however; she had to admit, she really liked Liam. She had just physically attacked him.

"Well, we are charmers," drawled Squire Alan, "But this exceeds exceeding. Just think, Liam, three beautiful girlies…and five handsome pages, throwing themselves at us… literally."

"Shut it, Alan. Can't you see it was a mistake?" Prince Liam growled, trying to avoid looking at Kodi, who was doing the same to him. "Although I'd like to know who you thought we were."

"It was just a game, Liam." Jasson gave up trying to hide and came forward. "Ah, your dear brother. Tell me, Jasson, you don't mind that this lug of whip cracking flesh is your brother?" Alan smiled charmingly, waiting for an answer that he never got.

"A game?" Liam spotted Kodi in the shadows. "Kodi's here too? Last Father told me, you were in the infirmary."

"I recover fast, your Majesty." Kodi said with a bow.

"Isn't this just nice?" Beron stepped out from the hallway. "There are some of my least favorite people in one spot; the prince, his lapdog, and the Protector's Mutts." His four cronies stood behind him menacingly.

"Beron." Liam's face was purple with rage. "So it's been you who's been beating up my brother and his friends?"

"I'm glad to take the blame." Beron bowed mockingly. Liam lunged at him and Alan wasn't far behind. All of the pages and squires threw themselves into the fight, which was starting to lean in on the Protector's Mutts' favor.

"Kodi?" The voice broke through the fight, pinning each one of them to the spot. "Are you fighting?"

"No, Kel. I'm just in the process of falling down." Kodi grinned as Beron's Dogs slinked away like the whelps they were, followed by Liam and Alan, who made sure that they kept going.

"Daine is still in the meeting and she sent me to get you. She was worried about you and she had a right to be. You shouldn't be fighting." Kel lectured.

"Right. Listen, I have some friends that I want you to meet. These are the Protector's Mutts." Kodi hadn't been sure what to call them, but the insult that Beron had given had turned into a perfect name.

"I've met you before." Kel said to Fianola and Hanna. "I remember, in my tent after the jousting tournament. I'm glad to see that you made it. We need more lady knights." The two girls turned beet red with pride and smiled hugely.

"These are their friends; Burch, Hartok, Jerom, Ryne, and Jasson. These are the ones that I practice with, and study with, and…"

"You fall down with them too." Kel said wryly. "Anyway, there are teachers looking for you. Come with me, and I'll say that I detained you."

They made it to the page's quarters and the teachers believed Kel's story. Protector's Mutts got a chance to meet their hero and were heartened by the night's events. After Kel and Kodi bid them goodnight, they walked in silence.

"Listen," Kel began. "I have to do something that most would say is stupid. You see, they can't find the princess. They can't scry for her and the spies know nothing. It's just, once when I needed information, I found it in the Chamber. I think that it will talk to me again."

"It's dangerous. You might get hurt. What about your baby?" Kodi protested.

"I love this baby, but I have to think of my country." Kel spoke firmly. "I'm strong. I have to learn to adjust."

"Alright. Do me a favor, and wait till morning. I promise that I won't try to stop you, but you'll need your rest." Kodi gave a half-grin.

"Thanks." Kel hugged Kodi about the shoulders. "I knew that you'd understand."

Did Kel think that Kodi was crazy? She wasn't going to let Kel lose the baby in the Chamber! Kodi had made Daine lose the baby, but she could prevent this one.

That is why when dawn stole across the sky, the Chamber door opened upon Kodi's stiff body.


	12. Reformation

**DISCLAIMER - Most of the characters, places, etc belong to Tamora Pierce. **

**This is the second to last chapter, all that is left if the epilogue. I have to get my story to over 40,000 words so that it will show up on the search engine more. Please review so that I know if you guys liked the ending, b/c if you didn't, I will rewrite it. Also, I don't know what kind of stuff to put in the epilogue, so any questions about anything, I will answer there.**

**CHAPTER 12**

Around midnight, Kodi left the chair by Kel's bed, where she had half-slept so that Kel wouldn't leave. She wrote a quick note, mainly telling them that she loved them all. Trotting quickly to the Chamber as if she was drawn to it by some alien power, Kodi wasn't feeling anything. She walked inside the Chamber without thought, barely noticing Captus's presence at her side.

_I knew that you would be back. _The Chamber spoke smugly.

"Well I'm glad that you won your bet with the gods." Kodi said sarcastically. "I need to ask you what to do. They all want the Scanren princess. They'll find out eventually. I can't lie to them anymore."

_I told you that you had a task to complete and only by making friends and loving would you get the training you needed to be a princess. Do what you were meant to do._

"I'll tell them, then. I'll go now." After hearing about all the pain that the Chamber caused squires, Kodi was beginning to think that she got off easy.

_Not so fast. Scanra's throne has long been called the Bloody Throne and for good reason. You will break this cycle. While you traveled Scanra, you observed the people and what they need. Look at this as furthering your education._

Sudden pain grasped Kodi as she went through what Scanra's people had gone through throughout the reign of the Bloody Throne. She had known about their hunger, sickness, and grievances, but now she felt them. Kodi also saw the reigns of previous Warlords. Without knowing how she knew it, Kodi knew that Captus was also experiencing what she was. Hours later, the excruciating pain ended and Kodi lay on the Chamber floor semiconscious. The Chamber door opened upon Kodi's stiff body.

Although her eyes were open, Kodi only heard the voices talking about her. Even then, they weaved in and out of her mind. Exerting every amount of willpower she possessed, Kodi forced her eyes open. She was being carried out of the Chamber and there were faces, people in the chapel outside. Out of the crowd, she picked out faces that she knew. Towards the front was a white faced Kel, and over there was a crying Daine. Near the back of the crowd was a stony-faced, terror-stricken Burch. Kodi felt guilty; she remembered that his brother had died in the Chamber.

Her hand dropped and hung from her carried body. Captus started to lick it. She could hear his padding paws on the floor. How had he recovered so quickly, fool dog? With that last thought, Kodi passed out again.

When Kodi awoke, she was alone on her cot in her room. Stretching her stiff limbs, Kodi tried to get some moisture back into her mouth. She heaved herself off of her cot and stood quietly. She knew that she had to tell everyone who she was, even though she would rather stay their friends.

Captus was the only one in Daine's rooms. Kodi briefly wondered where they were, and even felt hurt that no one had been with her, but she quickly pushed that aside. They had their own problems to worry about. Kodi changed into a gold beaded blue tunic and spotless cream breeches. After pulling on knee-length boots, cleaning her teeth, and brushing through her hair, Kodi felt ready for anything. Well, almost anything.

Captus seemed to know where he was going and Kodi followed him, knowing that her dog would take her where she wanted to go. She tried to calm her nervousness as she walked through the near-empty hallways. After a couple minutes of walking, Kodi stood blankly in front of a door. She could hear voices coming from inside. Guessing on what she could hear, they were having a meeting on Scanra's throne. Knowing what needed to be done, Kodi Shifted her form into the princess one. Taking a breath, Katoryn Rathhausak prepared herself to enter the room. Inside the room, they still argued.

The king was loudest in his frustration. "Why can't we find this princess? Our sources say that she isn't dead, but more than that, they don't know. What I wouldn't give to find her, if not just to end our problems!"

"Then see me now." Upon hearing the cold voice, everyone whipped around and froze in shock. Standing with her hands on her hips, was the missing princess. She was tall, with long white hair, and the coldest green eyes any of them had ever seen. "I am Katoryn Rathhausak, daughter of Maggur Rathhausak, Princess of Scanra's Bloody Throne." King Jonathon was the first to recover from shock.

"Welcome, cousin." He said with a slight bow. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you get here without our spies saying anything?"

"There are ways, _cousin_. I find your spy system seriously lacking, if you wouldn't mind me saying." She was always heavily sarcastic when she was Katoryn.

"Is that _Captus_?" Numair asked. Captus moved into everyone's view. "Mithros, Mynnos, and Shakith, Kodi?"

"I'm glad to hear one of my names spoken amidst some of the greatest gods." Katoryn snarled.

"You're Kodi?" asked King Jonathon, eyes even wider than before.

"I thought that we already had that established." The girl smirked. "To be specific I'm not Kodi. Kodi is Katoryn and Katoryn is Kodi."

"Kodi?" Daine's voice was full of pain that Kodi felt pained at, but Katoryn laughed at. "Why didn't you tell us?" This was a question that Katoryn would have given a cruel answer to, so she changed back into Kodi's dark blond hair and soft green eyes

"Because I was scared." Kodi gulped, eyes overflowing. "I was trying to hide. I was planning on retaking the throne, but the Chamber told me things."

"I wish you had told us sooner." Queen Thayet spoke kindly.

"Alanna told me that your dog Captus has been trapped in that form for ten years." George had taken the surprise of finding the princess rather well. "If I remember correctly, your brother Captus died ten years ago."

"Shut up, Yngve, please. I held my dead brother's hand when he lay there in his coffin. He was also Giftless and the dog Captus has a red gift." Kodi's heart broke as she crushed her own hopes. "There was a mage." Kodi didn't know that tears were freely flowing down her face and others' as her tormented voice spoke. "Elijah was his name and he was little more than a boy himself. He lived with my brother in the tower before Captus died. My father tried to have him executed, but the mage had disappeared."  
"I'll work on rescuing this Elijah then." Numair promised.

"Meanwhile, we've got a coronation to plan." Jonathon told Kodi.

- - - Three Months Later in Hamrkeng - - -

Kodi waited outside the coronation chamber, breathing back the lump that clogged her throat. She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. Feeling a shadow cross her vision, she jumped up quickly. Once Kodi saw who it was, she gasped and uttered a cry.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?" A wary guard ran into her vision.

"Yes, Soldier." That simple phrase was all that Kodi could get out. The guard left the pair alone again.

Kodi backed up slowly, craning her neck to look at the tall figure. The young man was tall, with brown curls. He had the same sky blue eyes that Kodi remembered.

"Captus?" She breathed, throat tight.

"Kodi." Captus hugged her fiercely. "I'm so sorry for everything."

"Where were you?" Kodi whispered in a yelling fashion, knowing that if she raised her voice, the guards would be back again.

"I was the dog all along and I was stuck. I got unstuck when you were going to take the throne for sure." The nineteen year old wrapped his arms around Kodi and she returned the embrace. They rocked there for a moment.

"Kodi?" Liam interrupted their hug. "Who is he?"

"Are you jealous?" Kodi joked. She felt on top of the world, light and happy, much more than even when Kel's baby boy had been born. Liam just scowled and glared at Captus. "Don't worry, I don't usually fall in love with my brothers."

"It's nice to meet you." Captus grinned at the younger and very much startled prince. "Although I suppose I've already met you." Captus turned to look at Kodi. "Listen, I've been around you for the past year or so. Do you want to rule?"

"Do you want to?" Kodi asked hopefully. "If you do, I'd really like that."

"They're ready for your coronation." Liam reminded them. "They're waiting for you."

"Let's surprise them." Kodi giggled. "Kill off those old Scanren conservatives who I don't want to deal with." Liam and Captus exchanged a rolling eyed glance.

In a couple minutes, Katoryn walked onto the fancy platform where the Tortallen monarchs, the Mithran priests, the priestesses of the Goddess, and Scanren nobles waited for her. Smoothing her gown, Kato held back a smile.

"Good evening, good friends. There has been a change in the plans for tonight." Everyone in the room looked at her startled and shocked. "I am fully aware that the heir to the throne was my brother, Prince Captus. I really would not feel right taking the throne that was intended for another. Let me introduce, His Highness, Prince Captus, heir to the Throne of Scanra!"

Captus walked out in a red cape, looking like the king that he was. Liam stood a couple of paces behind him.

"Greetings, my people." Captus' voice was strong and commanding. "When my father imprisoned me in the tower, he made but one mistake. Maggur placed a sorcerer to protect me. When it became clear to all that Maggur wasn't going to let me live, the sorcerer protected me with his life. He imprisoned me inside a husky's form and took upon himself my form. The sorcerer gave me his magic so that he would not weaken and save his life. His was the greatest sacrifice anyone can offer to another. Let all of our people remember the name of Elijah the Matchless!"

After, followed such a silence that mankind has never heard. Breaking it, Captus led the people in such a rousing cheer that shook the rafters of the Great Hall. Not one tear was dry as the people saluted their king and cheered for the memory of such a noble man.

"Whatever anyone may say," Kodi leaned against Liam in the empty hallway. "I'm glad that's over." She was exhausted after the lengthy ball.

"I'm glad too." Liam admitted. "Well, now you're the princess, your brother is king, and the realm is saved. Are you happy?"

"I don't know. I'm relieved, in any case, that the Bloody Throne has been broken."

"An alliance between Tortall and Scanra would be much approved." Liam said carefully.

Kodi froze. Liam was right; an alliance would be useful for both countries. She did like Liam a lot, maybe even love him. Kodi had certainly thought about him a lot. She had kissed Tobe once, almost half a year ago, but it seemed so long ago. She didn't have any feelings for him anymore, and Daine had told her that he was spending a lot of time with another girl. Kodi was glad and relieved that she didn't have to hurt Tobe.

Liam was different than Tobe. For one thing, he was more mature. Many people looked up to Kodi, but really, she wanted someone to take care of her, to some extent anyway. Realizing that Liam was still waiting for an answer, she broke out of her thoughts.

"Such an alliance would be interesting also, fun even." Kodi said mischievously. Liam's answer was to kiss her strongly.

Lost in passion, Kodi leaned into his kiss. As he put her hands around her waist, she wrapped her fingers in his coal-black hair. Their bodies seemed to melt into one, and they might have gotten carried away. Both of them broke apart when they heard the strangled sound coming from the other end of the hallway.

Jasson stood there, his face contorted into a grimace of horror. Fianola and Hanna, newly made squires, were holding in barely contained laughter. To make matters even worse, Alan had his arms folded across his chest, not even bothering to quiet his guffaws.

Kodi looked at Liam, who was grinning with a flushed face. 'Is this my future than?' she asked herself. 'If it is, I rather like it.'


	13. Epilogue

**This is the last chapter and it's not as good as I'dve liked it to to be, but I'm eager to get onto my next fanfic.**

**CHAPTER 13: Epilogue**

King Captus the Unifyer ruled with a just and kind frame of mind. Throughout the realm, it was said that he had ended the reign of the Bloody Throne, along with the warlord title that went along with it. The scarlet gift that Elijah had given him was passed on to his children and their children. Captus passed the brown hair and blue eyes to his posterity; Maggur's characteristic white-blond hair and stone cold blue eyes were lost.

Captus married one of the noble's daughters. She was young, kind, and intelligent. Before long, they had a son whom they named Elijah. Elijah was the most honorable name you could give a newborn, the new Scanran custom dictated. After the Crown Prince Elijah, came many more princes and princesses.

Kodi never changed back into Katoryn again, or even used her Shifting powers again. She hated the person she had learned to become whenever she looked like her father. By the way of explanation to the people about why their princess disappeared and was replaced, Captus told them about her Shifting.

The people might not have completely understood about the rare Shifting, but they could understand an alliance with Scanra and Tortall. Captus would have made the alliance anyway, but a wedding between the only Scanran princess and one of the younger Tortallen princes made it more exciting.

After a few years of helping Captus with improving Scanra, Kodi and Liam returned to Tortall for a lengthy stay. They introduced their young children to all their friends. Kodi had been worried about not recovering her friendly relationship with Tobe. She found that they got along like they had when they were children and she liked his strong, hardy wife as well.

Part of the marriage contract between King Captus and King Jonathon was that the newly weds spend equal time in each country. Liam and Kodi did just that, spending a year or two in each country, then in the other. Their children were known to be educated, yet understanding of commoners and their hardships.

Kodi was successful in her motherhood, although her children gave her a run for her money. She flatly refused to spank them, even when they misbehaved horribly. Her oldest was named Anneke after Kodi's mother. Anneke was very headstrong, unlike her grandmother, but she shared the dark hair, light eyes, and the wild magic.

Anneke refused to obey her mother and was six when she ran away from the inn where they were staying. It took many men and many hours to find her. When they did, Liam had to punish the young girl, because Kodi refused to lay a hand on her. Liam ended up spanking her loudly but not hard, because Anneke did feel guilty about scaring her parents. Liam was really a softie for a father, although he hid it well.

Anneke didn't lose any of her headstrongness when she grew up and forcibly rejected all of the many marriage offers that came her way. Luckily, they were all in the form of letters or quite a few noblemen would have discovered that the innocent princess wasn't so innocent. She had expanded her vocabulary in curses and used them frequently, to her parents' dismay. Anneke did fall in love though, and Liam and Kodi gave her permission to marry the man. As Kodi half-jokingly told Daine, it was either that or deal with Anneke eloping. Anyway, their daughter's new husband was kind and responsible.

Their next child had the Conte hair, eyes, and Conte gift. Captus II was mischievous and loved to play tricks on others. His parents had to sit him down when he was a child. They told him how people felt when mean tricks were played on them and they told Capt that any trick that hurt somebody was mean. The lesson stuck and Capt returned to his tricking ways, but he always made sure that they never hurt or angered anyone. Even still, Kodi pitied his page friends when Capt began training at the Hamrkeng palace at the age of ten.

Yngve was a mage, who shared both the Conte gift and his grandmother's wild magic. Kodi had a soft spot for him. Yngve was her youngest and he looked almost exactly like her, only in a mannish fashion. Unlike some mages who only cared for themselves, Yngve cared for others, noble or common. He was trained in his strong magic since it was discovered on him, which was when he exploded the toy that Anneke teased him with at age five.

When Yngve was twelve, he went for further training with Numair and Daine. Worried for her shy, quiet son, Kodi kept up a very frequent correspondence with Daine. Daine wrote her about Yngve's studies, problems, and fears. Kodi was glad for this insight, since Yngve would never tell his mother those things.

So as Daine told her, Kodi knew that when Yngve was fifteen, he almost died. Luckily, Daine had written to her after Yngve was out of any trouble, or Kodi would have shown up the next day. Anyway, Yngve had single handedly protected a small village from bandits. Using his wild magic, the brave Yngve had pitted the area's animals and birds against the bandits. He employed a shield that didn't let the bandits in the town's temple, which was where the villagers had fled to.

Once Yngve and the villagers were rescued from the remaining bandits by the King's Own, Yngve had collapsed for a week. By the time Kodi had received the letter, Yngve was up and working again. Kodi swelled with pride every time Yngve's adventure was mentioned.

After Liam and Kodi had raised their three children, they traveled all throughout Scanra and Tortall. Meeting with all the people, they sent back reports to both kings of what they could do to improve their countries.

Although Kodi had adventures of her own before her marriage, she would always be known to say that she liked things calm.

"Raising children must be equal to what soldiers call 'seeing the kraken.' I've no desire to do that _again_." Kodi honestly told Daine, Kel, and Alanna, much to the women's mirth. "I don't want to fight, or kill anyone. I just want to sit at home and knit."

Kodi never sat at home or knit, although she always threatened it. Up until her last days, Kodi worked to improve Scanra. Later in the history books, scholars would hear slight mention of Maggur's son: the king who repaired Scanra, his lost-and-found Scanren princess, her Tortallen prince and the selfless wizard Elijah. They would pay only brief notice to it, thinking that it was boring and they would swiftly flip to the tales of Alanna the Lioness, the Protector of the Small, Fianola the Fierce, Burch the Guardian and other such heroes.

Maybe someday one such scholar will read up on Kodi's story and take interest in it. Maybe that one such scholar is yourself. Maybe.

**Thank you everyone for all your reviews for this story; your compliments and criticism. I'd been told that Kodi was a bit of a MarySue and I know that's kind of true. In my next story, Kiyra isn't a MarySue at all. If she is, just tell me and I'll fix it. Anyway, here is a kind of preview for Kiyra.**

Kiyra groaned. She leapt off of one of the many pallets in the small room. She slipped out of the overlarge shirt that the slept in and pulled on her too-large grey breeches. Over that, she pulled on an off-white shirt and a brown vest. She had a pair of shoes, but she only wore them where the weather turned cold. Her feet were as tough as leather. She did have a sheath knife, which she stuck in her rope belt. As the last touch, she pulled a grey cap over her short hair. Then, she left the room.

The figure that was thumping down the stairs wasn't remarkable. She was of average height for her age, which happened to be fourteen. She had light blond hair. The only uncommon thing about her was her blue-green eyes that changed slightly with her mood. Although she had only woken up a minute before, no trace of sleep was left in Kiyra's movements or her face.

* * *

A fat nobleman was looking at scrolls, a large pouch hanging from his belt. This should be easy, thought Kiyra. She walked past the nobleman, but she "slipped" in a puddle and fell backwards. No one saw her whirling hands grab the pouch and slip it into her pocket. Stammering apologies to the nobleman, she scurried up and ran away, the picture of an embarrassed child.

* * *

Grinning proudly, Kiyra walked back to the Dancing Dove. Waving at her friends, she felt on top of the world. What could be better than having a pocket full of money, pick-pocketing skills, and Market Day besides?

* * *

"Why?" Kiyra whirled on Dillus. "I send them enough money to get though, don't I? They're provided for, aren't they? They don't need me, anymore than I need them!" Furious with herself for losing her temper, Kiyra stormed out of the Dancing Dove.

* * *

Kiyra walked away from the daggers, stealing one last covetous look. She walked further away, turned around and walked quickly back. Looking sideways, she crashed into the Baron of Pirate's Swoop. At the same time, she cut the ties and had the purse in her pocket before she hit the street. The Baron extended an arm to help her up, which Kiyra took gratefully. 

"Thank you, milord. M'sorry. " She bowed clumsily and walked back into the crowd, being careful to 'disappear' from them. She reached a hand into her pocket and felt the purse. It was heavy and didn't even jingle, which was a sign of it being full to bursting. Inwardly, she beamed. She must be the best pickpocket in Tortall! Well, probably just in Corus, she reasoned.

* * *

It was really a stroke of luck, even though Kiyra slammed into the stone wall. A child lay crying, huddled up between the wall and a crate. Kiyra sat down next to the girl and gathered her into her arms. The girl looked to be about three. Kiyra tried to get up, but the wind whipped her down again. Moaning, she almost prepared herself to spend a night in the cold, but got back up again. She picked up the girl again. Leaving the alley, Kiyra walked for what seemed like hours.

* * *

White light lit around the stone egg, so bright that the pickpockets jerked away from it and covered their eyes. Cowering in what could only be explained as fear, the pickpockets waited until the searing light stopped. They uncovered their eyes slowly, just in case the light started again. The light was over though and they were still alive and intact.

* * *

"I don't think they're going to be for the better." Geoff confided. "He's a hard man, this Iago. He's killed one of the Rogue already, just for forgetting to call him his Majesty." Kiyra winced; that was harsh. 

"Thanks for the warning. I'll watch my back." Kiyra said, turning and padding down the stairs. Near the end of the stairs, a hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around.

**Thats only a bit of the first chapter of Kiyra's story, which is tentively called Rogue's Rat. For now.**


	14. Elijah the Matchless

**This is a little something I wrote to bump the number of words in CAPTIVE to over forty. I wrote it in 3rd person first and changed it to 1st, so if there are some mistakes, just ignore them, unless it really gets to you, then tell me and I'll fix. That's a really large sentence. Anyway, this is the last installment of Captive and please read my Kiyra series.**

I am Elijah. I was fifteen when I was commanded by Warlord Maggur to imprison Prince Captus in the stone tower. The Warlord had told me, "Make sure that he doesn't escape, or I'll have your head and that of your family's." I was happy to cooperate after that.

The warlord's family was not shown to the people like those of other monarchs in other countries. Most people were lucky to see the queen once or twice in their life and they had only heard about the prince and heir of the throne. I didn't feel any compassion towards the prince. He probably _had _tried to kill his father.

So I went to the tower and began work on it. I warded it so that the prince would not be able to leave. I also put spells on the tower staff so that they wouldn't be able to leave or help the prince to escape. There were only three maids and a cook, so the spell would be easy to uphold. For me.

I was a sorcerer, who had immense power. If my stupid grandfather hadn't betrayed Warlord Maggur, the king would have allowed me to get training for it. All the training I have gotten was from books. Although my spells and charms were primitive, I had great force behind them. The prince would not escape. And, did I mention, I was 100 humble?

A week after I arrived at the tower, Prince Captus was brought. Watching the procession from a window at the top of the tower, I was awed. I hadn't seen so many soldiers in his life! There must be five hundred here! In the middle of the army, a fortified wagon rolled along. Sharpening my sight with my Gift, I could make out a window on the wagon with bars on it.

Abandoning my window, I ran down the curving steps two at a time. Only after I almost fell to his death did I slow. I met the wagon at the door. I hoped that I didn't look like a young, foolish child to the prince.

There wasn't any need for my concerns, because the small boy who shakily jumped out of the wagon was no more than a child himself. He looked to be about nine or so, with brown curls and sky blue eyes. The prince looked up at the tower, and I wondered how it looked to him. Ominous probably, even frightening.

The prince walked through the tower door and I followed him. I completed the warding spells so that the prince couldn't escape. Once again, I tried to imagine how the tower looked the boy-prince.

The circular base of the tower was about thirty feet from one end straight across to the other end. A narrow spiral staircase ran between the outer wall and the inner rooms. A small kitchen stood on the ground floor, with a servant's quarters directly on top of that. Over the two was my room and next a dining room. The prince had two rooms, one for sleeping and the other for playing. Each of the six rooms had a ceiling ten feet tall and there was a small landing on the staircase outside of every room's door.

There weren't any windows, either on the inner rooms or the outer wall. I had magicked globes to provide light much like a lamp. Even still, the whole tower was gloomy and cold.

The commander of the army outside of the tower spoke to me briefly. He told him the King Maggur had faith in me and only required a hundred guards around the tower. I snorted. I knew about King Maggur's wars and raids. Both the commander and I knew that the Warlord just couldn't spare any soldiers.

The prince shivered and I remembered my duty. Bowing, I motioned for the prince to start climbing the staircase. I wasn't going to have a killer walking behind him.

"Aren't there any windows?" The prince asked after we walked about two stories up. His voice was young, like a child's, although he spoke perfect Scanren.

"No." I answered simply.

We both passed my room, which was locked. We came to the dining room, which had no door. The prince stuck his head in and removed it when he saw what it was. I tapped his foot impatiently and the boy started to trot up the steps. I followed at the same pace, knowing that I'd look stupid if I couldn't keep up myself.

When we came to Captus's first room, I stopped the boy. "This is your room for playing. It has games, books, and toys." I unlocked the door and gently nudged the boy through. Captus looked around wonderingly.

The room had one wall with books on it. During the last week, I had briefly looked over the books to see what they contained. They were Scanren history books, fairy stories, books about the gods, and myths. The writing on each of them was gold, and the binding was in the finest doe-skin. Near the books was a soft armchair that looked too big for the small boy.

In the other corner was a huge rocking horse. Its withers came to my shoulders. The rocking horse's form mimicked that of a real horse almost perfectly. It had real horse-hair mane and tail and real fur. It was dressed in leather tack like that of a war horse. Captus walked over to it and touched it, awed.

The other wall was filled with shelves and shelves of toys. Captus walked over to them. I assumed that he would head to the wooden swords and bows, but the prince surprised him. He reverently picked up a small ship and moved it through the air. His lips pursed for a moment, and then he awkwardly made the sounds of waves.

A staircase ran up the other wall. Although there was still the spiral staircase outside of the room, Captus wouldn't be able to use it without me unlocking the doors. With the staircase inside of the two rooms, Captus could go to each of his two rooms without my keys.

The prince looked to me and set down his toy. "Forgive me. I'm sure you want to just leave me and go to your room."

I blinked. "That's alright. I don't mind, really." I was surprised by how mature the prince acted for his age. "Your room is up here." Leading the way, I climbed up the staircase. "I guess these toys are pretty bad for what you're used to," I said, by way of conversation. "But it's all that your father sent."

"I never had toys before." Captus argued. I gave him a disbelieving look, and Captus relented. "Well, maybe when I was a baby. I can't remember."

By then I and the prince had made it up the straight, wooden staircase. The boy's room was simple, yet elegant. The bed was almost too high for the prince to scramble up. On the bed were many feather pillows and heavy bear fur blankets. There was a canopy over it with heavy, velvet curtains. There was also an immense wardrobe. The prince went over to it and struggled with the handles that were too tall for a boy to reach. I went over to him and pulled it open.

The wardrobe contained white, silk robes for sleeping that had gold and silver stitching in embroidered designs and matching silk slippers. Next to where the robes hung were midnight blue and silver stitched tunics and scarlet and gold stitched tunics. Next to the tunics and robes was a cape of spun gold on the outside and velvet on the inside. There was another cape of wolf fur and the rare and expensive reindeer skin on the inside. There were two shelves that covered half of the bottom of the wardrobe with loincloths and silk gold and silver hose on them. On the other half of the wardrobe's bottom was boots. One pair was polished black and would probably come up to the boy's knees. Another pair would come halfway up his legs and were tan. The last pair was brown shoes and didn't ever cover his ankles.

After inspecting his wardrobe, Captus turned to me. "I don't need help to undress. You could leave now, if you want." I nodded and bid him good night. I left out of the prince's bedroom's door and checked that it was locked. Briskly trotting down the outer staircase, I locked the toy room's door.

After all, I couldn't let Prince Captus escape, could he?

The next day, I woke up early and charged up the stairs. Unlocking the prince's door, I found that the light-globe was still out, as it was during the night. The prince was huddled in a mound of blankets with his head covered. I rushed over to the light-globe and touched it; the light in the room increased. The prince emerged from the blankets. If his face was pale and tearstains lay on his smudged face, Captus said nothing of it.

"I'm sorry if I made you wait for your breakfast." Captus hopped out of bed and tried to tug the blankets over the bed.

"That's alright, the maids will do it." I told him. "As soon as you get dressed we can go downstairs and eat."

Captus bit his lip and pasted a false smile on his lip. "Fine." The young prince walked over to the wardrobe and tugged the handles open easily. I had left them slightly open so that he wouldn't have any trouble. Captus picked out a blue and silver tunic and silver hose. I turned around to give the prince his privacy as he changed.

For a couple minutes there were the sounds of a struggle. "I'm done." Captus said unconvincingly. I sighed and turned around. Stifling a laugh, I fixed the set of his hose and tugged on his tunic until it hung smooth.

"I'm sorry!" Captus misunderstood my intentions. "It's just, the maids at the palace always helped me and I've never really done it on my own."

Although I was surprised, I covered it up. "I think you did a good job then, for your first time." The prince rewarded me with a beaming smile.

Warlord Maggur had provided well for his son, although he had also imprisoned him. Breakfast that morning was rich; eggs, ham, bacon, and sweet rolls. When Captus saw the feast, he bit his lip. I thought that he was used to better food until the prince spoke.

"The soldiers don't get to eat like this, do they?" I shook my head and Captus continued. "This is too much for me. Could I take them my portion?"

"Why would you want to do that?" I asked incredulously. "They brought you to this stone prison."

"They were only following orders." The prince protested. "They have to. On the way here, I saw that they were good men and they only get hardtack for breakfast."

Surprised, I agreed and also donated my portion, only keeping my sweet rolls. They would more than feed me and the prince. Captus couldn't leave the tower, but he helped carry the food baskets to the door. I passed the steaming food to the soldiers, keeping one small basket behind when I remembered the maids and the cook.

Over the next few months, I was surprised by the young boy's charity, kindness, and compassion. When the prince saw that the beds in the servants' quarters had only thin blankets and mine only had two, Captus donated most of his heavy quilts. He gave most of the rich food that was sent to him to the soldiers and four servants.

I would have thought that Captus would have been bored with his one room of toys and books, but the prince was perfectly content. Many a times you could find Captus on his rocking warhorse, Liberty, brandishing a sword or bow. I once asked who he was fighting and wished he hadn't.

"I'm fighting my father." The prince said simply. "I'm ending his reign and taking over Scanra."

I crossed the room in three big strides and yanked Captus down from the warhorse. Kneeling down and looking the younger boy in the face, he held his shoulders and gave them a shake.

"Don't ever say that, understand? That's treason and you'll get executed for that!"

"I understand why I mustn't say that, but I'll be thinking it." Captus told me seriously.

The prince read the fairy stories and acted them out. Once he mentioned that Kato, his younger sister would have liked one about a female warrior who tricked a legion of soldiers. I was surprised to hear that he had a sister.

Captus also talked to me. Once after I scoffed at a prince's life, saying that they had it easy, Captus showed me the truth. The prince told me what he had to do just in one day, and it made my head spin. Then, Captus teased me into learning the twelve kinds of Scanren bows perfectly. I never said that a prince's life was easy again.

Captus also proved to be an adept swordsman. He taught me in our spare time. We had plenty of it.

I was finding that guarding the prince wasn't hard. Never once did he try to escape. I asked Captus about it about a month after they had arrived.

"If I did manage to escape all of your wards, you, the servants, and the soldiers would be killed. That wouldn't be fair." Once again, I was moved by the prince's selfless attitude.

Since I didn't have to use his Gift often, I had plenty to spare. I found myself wanting to please the captive child. While Captus slept, I went into the toy room. I had found the room too dark and cold for my liking. Summoning my Gift, I magicked the ceiling to give off sunlight. Now the room would be bright and warm. I also made a lush carpet of soft grass that would never die. Captus's look of joy made me feel all happy inside. It was fun to excite this boy who did so many nice things for others.

I also learned that Captus was afraid of the dark. I magicked the boy's bedroom ceiling to look like a starry night sky. I also got the prince some cotton breeches and a plain white shirt after Captus mentioned that he would like to own a pair.

I spun dreams for Captus with his Gift. Captus would lie down and close his eyes and I would send him a very realistic dream. The dream would start about a specific topic, like sailing on a schooner. Captus could make choices and do whatever he wanted. I didn't know what was happening inside of them and when I couldn't hold onto the dream anymore, the bubbly Captus would tell me all about it. They were so realistic, he told me, that he could _feel _the sea spray.

I didn't know that I loved Captus like a brother until I lost him. The commander of the hundred soldiers camped outside knocked on the open door of the playroom. Captus and I stopped fighting Warlord Maggur's (I had started to fight them too, although neither of us said as much). Holding a crushed letter in his fist, the commander brokenly informed us that King Maggur was ordering Captus's return to the palace so that he could be executed.

Instead of behaving like a child and wailing, Captus walked over to the commander and reassured him. "It's not your fault. Stop sparking!" That last comment was directed to me, who was unwittingly shooting off red sparks of my Gift. I stopped them as the commander informed us that we would be leaving in the morning.

As soon as the commander left, I started to pace. I ignored Captus until I had a sufficient plan. When I told him my plan, he vehemently disagreed. I tied him up.

With my Gift, I changed myself into Captus's form. It was odd, seeing everything at his point of view. Luckily, I still had my Gift so that I could change Captus into a dog. I changed him into a beautiful husky, one of the nobles' dogs, so that maybe someone would find him and take care of him. He protested until I changed him into the puppy. Even then, he whined and cried.

I had to put some magic on Captus so that he could leave his form. I thought and thought until I decided that Captus would only change back when his father was dead and someone had taken the throne who would let him live.

That only left one thing. I had to give Captus my Gift so that I wouldn't chicken out and save myself at the last moment. It was hard and almost dawn by the time I finished. When I was done, I couldn't sleep. I was scared.

So I wrote this. I'm putting it into this metal box and hiding it in Liberty, the warhorse. I showed Captus where I put it so that if he survived, he could find it. I don't want to waste this parchment and ink for nothing. Maybe someday someone will read it. After I hide this, I'm going to get dressed and ready for my execution. I hope that I won't cry. I hope that I won't beg. Besides, I wouldn't want to make Captus look bad, would I?

- Elijah Tryskas


End file.
